STF decides that big techs are required to have headquarters in Brazil The Supreme Federal Court (STF) defined this Wednesday (17) adjustments to the decision that expanded the responsibility of platforms for the content they publish. Unanimously, the Supreme Court also decided to declare the final and unappealable judgment of the actions, therefore, there are no more chances for challenges against the closed understanding. A deadline of 60 days was set for the implementation of the obligations imposed on providers.
This applies to the adoption of actions of the so-called duty of care, which includes measures to reduce risks of offenses to fundamental rights and combat illicit acts, self-regulation, and the provision of specific service channels for content removal requests. One of the innovations made by the Supreme Court provides that the Executive branch will also be able to regulate the topic. In practice, the measure was read as a signal from the Court to the two decrees that create new rules for the operation of social networks and were based on the Supreme Court's decision. The first detailed the duties of providers regarding content moderation, transparency, service security, and mitigation of the massive circulation of criminal content. The other establishes guidelines for confronting violence against women in the digital environment, with an obligation to make unauthorized intimate content unavailable within two hours after notification and measures against intimate deepfakes generated by AI. It was also defined that it is up to the National Data Protection Agency, linked to the Ministry of Justice, to oversee whether the platforms are complying with the rules imposed by the Court. The STF's understanding occurs amidst the opposition's movement in Congress to suspend the government's decrees. The ministers judged appeals from platforms that questioned the Court's understanding that expands responsibility for the content they publish.
Among the appeals are questions presented by Facebook and Google. The ministers set a deadline of 60 days for providers to adopt the new rules and also clarify the obligations that will have to be adopted. The so-called thesis gathers the rules that will have to be followed by the entire Judiciary in Brazilian territory. Providers may have joint liability when they do not act in cases of accounts reported as non-authentic. STF plenary session Rosinei Coutinho/STF Companies may cease to be held responsible for user content if reasonable doubt is proven regarding cases of crimes or illicit acts, without prejudice to the duty to remove the content.
It was decided that there is a relative presumption of guilt for the internet application provider in the case of illicit content when it comes to advertisements and paid boosts; or artificial mechanisms for the inorganic dissemination of illicit content. In these cases, accountability does not depend on notification.
Providers will be excluded from liability if they prove that they acted diligently and within a reasonable time to make the content unavailable. The Supreme Court also defined that the responsibility of providers for the so-called duty of care occurs when there is a configuration of systemic failure, when it fails to act in a responsible, transparent, and cautious manner. Supreme Federal Court concluded judgment on the Internet Civil Rights Framework Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction The person responsible for publishing the content removed by the internet application provider may judicially request its restoration, upon demonstration of the absence of illegality. Even if the content is restored by court order, there will be no imposition of compensation to the provider Internet application providers must edit self-regulation that necessarily covers a notification system, due process, and annual transparency reports regarding extrajudicial notifications, advertisements, and boosts.
They must also make specific service channels available to users and non-users, preferably electronic, that are accessible and widely publicized on the respective platforms on a permanent basis. The rules must be published and reviewed periodically, in a transparent and accessible manner to the public. Internet application providers operating in Brazil must establish and maintain headquarters and a representative in the country, whose identification and contact information must be made available and be easily accessible on the respective websites.
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