Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, informed Brazil's Superior Electoral Court on Tuesday that it has implemented measures to ensure equal treatment for the presidential campaigns of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
Court Deadline and Meta's Response
The update was submitted after an Electoral Court judge gave the company a 24-hour deadline to prove it had established measures ensuring the equitable distribution of content ahead of Sunday's runoff election.
In a nine-page document obtained by Reuters, Meta listed 17 initiatives undertaken to comply with the judicial order. The company attached a technical statement confirming that content related to both campaigns is treated equally and without discrimination, while outlining the mechanisms that guarantee this parity.
Monitoring Mechanisms and Advertising
Meta detailed specific operational changes aimed at transparency and speed:
- Implementation of a human pre-screening process for the advertising accounts of both campaigns.
- A commitment to review any automated restrictions placed on these ad accounts within a two-hour window.
- These protocols will remain active until the conclusion of the second round of elections this Sunday.
The legal scrutiny began following a challenge from Lula's campaign, which alleged that Meta's actions favored the Bolsonaro candidacy—a claim that Meta has explicitly denied.
