Million-dollar fine for Meta after the presidential elections

In the second round of Brazil's presidential elections on October 25, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defeated right-wing senator Flavia Bolsonaro, who then secretly fled to the USA, violating a court order. The Brazilian Electoral Court fined Meta $1.3 million for failing to comply with court orders to ensure equal treatment of candidates on its social media platforms. Judge Marco Aurelio Bellizze clarified that while Meta did not intentionally favor any candidate, Lula's campaign had previously accused the company of biased algorithms favoring Bolsonaro. Brazilian courts have been pressuring digital giants, straining relations with the US administration. In early November, a Brazilian court prohibited Meta from collecting content from local media for AI training, and in 2024, the Supreme Court blocked the X platform over misinformation issues.