STF judges appeals from big techs on network regulation this week

The STF (Supreme Federal Court) begins judging this week the appeals presented by technology companies against the Court's decision that increased the liability of big techs for illicit content published by users. The trial will be held in the virtual plenary between May 29th and June 9th.

Among the companies that appealed are Google and Facebook, which asked for clarifications and adjustments in points of the thesis established by the Supreme Court in the Marco Civil da Internet judgment.

The analysis of resources was guided by Minister Dias Toffoli on the same day that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) signed decrees that tighten rules for the operations of big techs in the country. One of the texts updates the regulations of the Marco Civil da Internet to align it with the STF decision on platform liability.

In June last year, the Supreme Court decided, by 8 votes to 3, to expand the possibilities for holding technology companies responsible for illicit content published by users.

At the time, the Court considered the Internet Civil Rights Framework rule that conditioned the liability of platforms to non-compliance with a court order to be partially unconstitutional.

In practice, the STF defined that platforms may respond legally in more situations, including after extrajudicial notifications made by users, without the need for a judicial decision.

In the appeals, the companies allege that there were omissions, obscurities and risks of legal uncertainty in the decision. Facebook, for example, asks the STF for clarification on when the new rules come into force and requests a minimum period of six months to adapt to the new moderation and transparency obligations imposed by the Court.

The company also argues that the thesis applies only to "manifestly" illicit content, under the argument of avoiding excessive removals and risks to freedom of expression.

Google now questions points linked to extrajudicial notifications and asks the STF to establish minimum requirements for these requests, such as identification of the complainant, precise indication of the questioned content and a reasoned justification for the supposed illegality of the publication.

The appeals will be analyzed by the Court's virtual plenary, a modality in which ministers cast votes electronically, without in-person debate.

Opposition articulates against government
The government's offensive on the regulation of platforms displeased the opposition in the National Congress. Parliamentarians filed at least 24 PDLs (Project Legislative Decree) to try to overturn the acts signed by Lula last week.

The main target is the decree that updates the rules of the Marco Civil da Internet and expands the role of the ANPD (National Data Protection Authority) in monitoring digital platforms.

The text determines that companies adopt mechanisms to act quickly in the face of the dissemination of content linked to terrorism, encouragement of self-harm, racial discrimination, crimes against women, sexual violence and human trafficking.

The decree also expands liability options involving paid advertising and boosted content, providing for sanctions in cases of failure to prevent scams, fraud and digital crimes.

Opposition parliamentarians accuse the government of trying to create a control structure over social networks without Congressional approval.

Planalto's allies claim that the measures only regulate points already defined by the STF and reinforce user protection mechanisms.

In an interview with CNN, Constitutional Law professor André Marsiglia warned that some concepts present in the text are vague and could open gaps for censorship or mistakes in the application of norms.

"It is precisely in this territory where some of these concepts, being vague, can generate some type of censorship or some type of misunderstanding", declared the jurist. The lack of clear definitions, according to him, creates an environment of uncertainty for both platforms and users.

According to Marsiglia, the decree represents a significant change in relation to the previous logic established by the Marco Civil da Internet, which provided for an individualized approach to the removal of online content.

Jurist: Vague concepts open a loophole for censorship in Lula's decree on big techs | NOW CNN

Source: CNN