Portugal's Ultra  Right Party, Chega, Threatens to Take Legal Action Against Facebook Account Restrictions by Meta

Andre Ventura, Chairman of the Chega Party. (photo: x @AndreCVentura)

JAKARTA - Portugal's ultra-right party, Chega, will take legal action against Meta Platforms Inc's decision to limit the party's Facebook account for 10 years. This was said by the party spokesperson on Tuesday, April 16.

The anti-immigration and populist Chega is Portugal's third-largest political party, doubling its parliamentary representation to 50 legislators in snap elections last month. This fact confirms the shift towards far-right populism in Europe.

The party said they had been informed by Meta that their account was restricted for 3,649 days because their activity "violated our community standards."

"We will take legal action against this decision," said Patricia Carvalho, a lawmaker and party spokeswoman. He added that Meta does not give restricted users the opportunity to appeal via social media platforms.

Meanwhile, Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the media regarding the report.

"On the Chega Facebook page, you can only share content published by other pages. We cannot create content," Carvalho said. He also called the decision incomprehensible and an "unprecedented repression of a political party in Portugal".

He declined to speculate on what and who might have provoked Meta's decision. The party was still posting videos and messages made by its parliamentary group page on Tuesday.

According to Facebook's Community Standards, accounts may be restricted when there is a history of prior violations and/or use of hate speech, incitement of violence, or other policy violations.

Chega's past anti-immigration and anti-Roma rhetoric has sparked accusations of discriminatory speech from across the political spectrum.

"This is an unacceptable form of censorship," wrote party leader Andre Ventura on the social media platform X. He also called on Chega supporters to show their frustration with Meta.

The party reaches many of its voters using social media. Chega's Facebook account has 199,000 followers and Ventura's TikTok account has more than 280,000 followers.