The Brazilian Institute of Consumer Defense (Idec) sent a request to the National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon) for the messaging application Telegram to be punished for having propagated messages against the Fake News Bill (PL 2630/2020), which creates the Brazilian Law of Freedom, Responsibility and Transparency on the Internet. For Idec, Senacon needs to apply to Telegram the same precautionary measures that were imposed on Google and which determine the removal of these messages. Last week, Senacon imposed a series of measures on Google, such as signaling the user as advertising this and other content contrary to the approval of PL 2630 and starting to convey positions favorable to the bill. If it fails to comply with Senacon’s determinations, the company will be fined R$ 1 million per hour. According to Idec, the letter was sent on Tuesday (9) and requests that Telegram stop using the platform to defend its own economic and political interests without signaling its intentions to the user. This Tuesday, Telegram sent a message to its users claiming that “democracy is under attack in Brazil” and accusing the bill of giving “censorship powers without prior judicial supervision”. To send these messages, Telegram used the same user that it uses to send information regarding user account security and information of public interest, such as combating false news in the electoral context. According to Idec’s Telecommunications and Digital Rights Program specialist Camila Leite Contri, Telegram’s action is an affront to the rights of consumers. “It is an abusive attitude that exploits the vulnerability of the consumer. The company abuses its power, as it increases the imbalance of information with the application’s users. With the aim of favoring its own economic interests, Telegram uses a channel made exclusively to send security or public interest messages to users to carry out this type of misleading advertising”, he said. This Wednesday, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), ordered Telegram to delete the message that was sent on Tuesday and determined that the platform should send a new message to users stating that the publication constitutes “flagrant and illicit disinformation” for having stated that the eventual approval of the bill could be understood as censorship. Shortly after the minister’s determination, Telegram removed the message from the air and sent a new one to its users, informing that it was complying with a court order. “We received an order from the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil that obliges Telegram to remove our previous message about PL 2630/2020”. “By determination of the Federal Supreme Court, the company Telegram communicates that the previous Telegram message characterized flagrant and illicit disinformation that attacks the National Congress, the Judiciary, the Rule of Law and Brazilian Democracy, since it fraudulently distorted the discussion and debates on the regulation of providers of social networks and private messaging services in an attempt to induce and instigate users to coerce parliamentarians,” wrote Telegram. Agência Brasil sent a message to the platform asking it to comment on the request sent by Idec to Senacon, but has not yet received a response from Telegram.
Agência Brasil
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