Following the rapporteur’s request, Lira postpones voting on Fake News PL

The President of the Chamber of Deputies decided this Tuesday (2) to postpone the vote on the Fake News bill (PL 2630/2020). The move came at the request of the rapporteur on the matter, Deputy Orlando Silva (PCdoB-SP), who asked for more time to consider proposals for changes to the text put forward by parliamentarians, and the agreement of most party leaders.

“Given the request of the rapporteur – which is enough for me – and the leaders, who are largely in favor of maintaining the dialogue, the project will not be put to the vote tonight,” he said.

Although it was a demand from the Liberal Party (PL) bench, the acronym of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who has voiced criticism of the text, Lira did not set a new date for voting on what is believed to be a contentious matter.

Against the PL and Novo votes, the PP, Republicans, PT, PDT, Psol, PCdoB and Patriota agreed to the postponement.

The leader of the PP, MP André Fufuca (MA), explained that MPs also need time to analyze Orlando Silva’s text. “It is well known that this matter cannot be voted on. The rapporteur has received more than 90 amendments for a project whose text many do not know,” he said.

Republican leader Rep. Hugo Motta (PB) said discussion of the proposal ended up being tainted with polarization and “narratives.”

MP Adriana Ventura (Novo-SP) explained that the postponement proves the need to set up a special commission to analyze the problem, as defended by its acronym since the case began.

Orlando Silva asked for more time to adjust the text after meeting with party leaders. “We haven’t had time to examine all the proposals,” said the rapporteur, who intends to present a new opinion.

“We will consolidate the incorporation of all proposals made so that we can have a position that unites the plenary of the Chamber of Deputies in a movement to fight disinformation, guarantee freedom of expression, platform accountability and transparency online,” he said .

MEP Fernanda Melchiona (Psol-RS) also defended the postponement of the vote in search of consensus. “We have a social challenge to unite everyone who understands the importance of ensuring transparency and freedom of expression for the user, but fighting crime and misinformation that is costing lives,” he said.

controversy

According to the rapporteur, one of the controversial points is the enforcement of the law. “We’ve speculated all day today about some alternative possibilities for the law to have an inspection mechanism that would guarantee compliance, including the use of sanctions,” he explained.

The original wording provided for the creation of an autonomous body for inspection, while the latest version left this point for future regulation.

MP Carlos Veras (PT-PE) stressed that it was imperative for Parliament to settle the matter. “This Congress has a responsibility and I have no doubt that it will not go away. We will not fail with society and the Brazilian people. There is an urgent need to put an end to the platforms’ irresponsibility towards the lives of Brazilians,” he said.

obstruction

The discussion of the proposal dominated the announcements in the plenary and the political negotiations this Tuesday (2). Contrary to the text, the PL submitted motions to obstruct the vote. Republicans, Novo, PSDB and Citizenship also said they would vote against the proposal this Tuesday.

MP Bia Kicis (PL-DF) explained that the proposal would lead to political persecution on the networks. “Approving this project legitimizes persecution, censorship and breaches of due process. And we can’t do that,” he said.

MP Gustavo Gayer (PL-GO) proposes that the text be rejected. “Listen to the cry of people who may be using social media for the last time, asking for help. When this happens, the effect will be the opposite. We’re going to throw our kids into the deep web, that dark part of the internet, because they’re going to be afraid to use the standard internet,” he said.

For MP Messias Donato (Republicanos-ES), the proposal will limit citizens’ freedom. “When we talk about freedom, we’re not talking about political or ideological positioning, we’re talking about defending an achievement that we gained centuries ago, but which is still there today, in mid-2023, that they want to take.” , he said.

understand the project

The proposal creates the so-called Brazilian Law of Freedom, Responsibility and Transparency on the Internet and sets out obligations that social networks, messaging apps and search engines must follow when reporting and withdrawing accounts and content deemed criminal.

According to the text, providers (considered as social networking applications, search engines or instant messaging) can be held civilly liable “for repairing damage caused by content generated by third parties whose distribution has been made through platform advertising” and “for damage resulting from content created by third parties in the event of non-compliance with the due diligence requirements.

For the great technicians are also required to carefully identify, analyze and assess systemic risks arising from the design or operation of their Services and related systems, including algorithmic systems. The assessment should be conducted annually or upon the rollout of functionality expected to have “critical impact”.

Risks include the dissemination of illegal content, an attack on ensuring and promoting the right to freedom of expression, information and the press, as well as media pluralism, the democratic rule of law and the integrity of the electoral process. In addition to the dissemination of information, risks related to “violence against women, racism, the protection of public health, children and young people, the elderly” also include those with serious negative consequences for physical and mental well-being.

In these cases, organizations must take “reasonable and effective” mitigation measures, including content moderation processes where appropriate, speed and quality of notification processing, and eventual content removal.

It is also included in the catalog of duties “to test and adapt algorithmic systems, including prioritization and recommendation systems, of platform advertising” and the adoption of measures to protect the rights of children and young people, including the improvement of age verification systems.

According to the project, the great technicians must act diligently to “prevent and curb illegal practices” such as the distribution of illegal content generated by third parties that could constitute one of the criminal offenses listed above.

Once the new regulation comes into effect, companies will have to provide clear and accessible terms of service with explanations on the main features of the services, types of prohibited content, information on the notification and complaints procedure, advertising services and general description of the algorithms used (with main parameters that the Recommendation or targeting of content to the user), taking into account business and trade secrets.

(with chamber agency)

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