Brazilian Judge: Technology Companies Must Comply With Local Law

JAKARTA Brazilian Judge Alexandre de Moraes said that all technology companies must comply with the laws stipulated in Brazil. Otherwise, the platform could be suspended.

Although he did not mention the name of his tech company, Moraes made this statement the day after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a video explaining that they would remove the US independent fact-checking program.

Meta will switch to Community Records features, such as those used by platform X, and reduce censorship in sensitive discussions such as immigration discussions or those related to politics. Apparently, Moraes' statement was directed at Meta.

The reason is, at the two-year anniversary of damage in Brazil to various institutions, Moraes said that the high court would closely monitor tech companies. They will not allow tech giants to take advantage of hate speech.

"In Brazil, (companies) will only continue to operate if they respect Brazilian law, regardless of the jokes of Big Tech managers," Moraes said.

On the other hand, Brazilian prosecutors have ordered Meta to provide clarification on Zuckerberg's statement. They want to ascertain whether the fact-checking program will also apply in South America.

Meta was given 30 days to respond to prosecutors' requests. According to the prosecutor's explanation, the clarification orders given to Meta are still related to the investigation of social media actions in fighting misinformation and online violence.