Faced with recent attacks on schools and the fear generated by threats in social media profiles, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) published an ordinance that seeks to give more control to content disseminated by these platforms. The rule, signed by Minister Flávio Dino, assigns the National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon) and the Public Security Secretariat (Senasp) the task of acting in the midst of the dissemination of illicit, harmful or harmful content on social networks. The ordinance provides that Senacon will institute an administrative process to investigate and hold platforms accountable in the face of the propagation of content that encourages attacks against the school environment or that make apology and incitement to these crimes and their perpetrators. Senasp, on the other hand, should guide platforms to prevent the creation of new profiles from internet protocol addresses (IP address) in which illegal, harmful and dangerous activities related to violent extremist content have already been detected. On the subject, Agência Brasil interviewed the ministry’s Digital Law coordinator, Estela Aranha, who participated in the drafting of the ordinance. The lawyer commented on possible clashes between the norm and the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet; mediation of content by private platforms and the risk of censorship; how far should the platforms’ general surveillance of their users go; and how the Ministry of Justice was legally bound to issue the norm. Check out the main excerpts from the interview: Agência Brasil: The debate about the responsibility of social networks in the dissemination of extremist content gained strength after recent acts of violence in schools. What legal understanding do we have today of the issue? Estela Aranha: There was a discussion that claimed that the platforms would not be responsible for the content that third parties posted. This was a traditional reading of the Marco Civil da Internet. Today, there has already been a lot of progress on this discussion and we see that the interpretation should not be literal. It must be constitutional and systematic with our legislation. The news feed of each platform works according to what it delivers. It is she who decides what will be displayed. She boosts content, can recommend content. There’s a whole selection. The relationship between users and the platform is a consumer relationship. So she does have responsibility, not for each specific content, but for keeping the overall user environment safe. Even more in relation to the most vulnerable, who are children and adolescents, who have priority in this treatment by the Constitution. MJ’s Digital Law Coordinator, Estela Aranha, participated in the elaboration of the norm published this week, which deals with extremist content on social networks – Valter Campanato/Agência Brasil Agência Brasil: What are the main points of the ordinance published by the ministry and which provide on administrative measures to prevent the dissemination of illicit and harmful content on social networks? Estela Aranha: First, the possibility of Senacon, within strict legality and the Consumer Defense Code, carrying out this investigation on the issue of security in the provision of service. The service has to be secure. She will do this global assessment. If the services are not safe for consumers, there may be some sanctions by the consumer protection agency. In all the obligatory relations of the platforms, there is a contract. Even if it is an adhesion, it is a contract. And all contracts have the precept of good faith. From this derives a duty of care so that the parties do not suffer loss or damage when they are using the service, which is the object of the contract. So, platforms have a duty to prevent an environment with harmful and harmful content in general for the user. We bring this obligation and some mechanisms on how it will be evaluated. Agência Brasil: The Civil Rights Framework for the Internet provides that the removal of any content from social networks requires judicial protection. Does the ministry’s ordinance, in any way, clash with the legislation we currently have? Estela Aranha: The civil milestone does not prohibit the removal of content without a court decision, it says that platforms will be held responsible if they do not comply with court decisions. But it does not prohibit any type of moderation. It can be done. With this systematic interpretation of the legislation, the Constitution, the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA) and the Consumer Protection Code, we are showing that there is a desire to maintain this environment in a safe and sound way so that people can use the internet, and that platforms do have a duty to moderate. Agência Brasil: Wouldn’t the norms provided for in the ordinance put the power to mediate content in the hands of private platforms, paving the way for possible censorship? Estela Aranha: Today, platforms moderate content according to their interests, whether their terms of use, your private or business interests or your values. Mediation is completely in the hands of the platforms. What do we want? We put this debate within our ordinance, this issue of monitoring Senacom. Agência Brasil: The ordinance also determines that users who are posting extremist content be immediately identified. Could this set precedents in terms of the platforms’ general surveillance of their users? Estela Aranha: No. We already have monitoring of illegal content by the police authorities. We do not open it, we go within the terms of the law that already exists today, the Civil Rights Framework for the Internet, which allows the police authority, when there is an illegal activity within its powers that are provided for by law, to request these data for investigation. Obviously, to be safe, we need public safety. So, we didn’t increase or change anything that exists in the legislation today regarding data access. We are just organizing for this process to be faster and more uniform in all the police stations throughout Brazil so that we can take faster measures. Agência Brasil: The ordinance provides that, if platforms do not collaborate in removing extremist content, companies will be called upon. How did the ministry set out to elaborate these measures from a legal point of view? Estela Aranha: Our parameters are the existing legislation: the Consumer Defense Code, which has an administrative process that is already very well established and sanctions. Nothing will be done outside due process of law and relevant legislation. We do not extrapolate any existing laws within our legal system. Within those powers that the laws already give to our bodies, we are working with what we have. So, within Senacon’s legal powers, the processes that are possible within the scope of the consumer and the sanctions that already exist in the Consumer Defense Code. Agência Brasil: How many profiles have the ministry identified until the moment when there is an apology for violence or some kind of threat? Estela Aranha: There are a few hundred. As they are data from operations in progress, we cannot disclose them so as not to jeopardize operations. But there are many profiles. They are being removed and others are being monitored. The data for investigation are being processed by the civil police of the states.
Agência Brasil
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