Meta employees say Lula’s accounts restricted in Brazil election: Report

Meta employees acknowledge restrictions on Lula's Instagram accounts during Brazil election

The full report

According to a report by Folha de S Paulo, Meta employees have acknowledged in internal communications that the Instagram accounts of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were negatively affected by restrictions during the country's election.

The messages, reported on Friday, also acknowledged that the platform recommended the profile of Lula's challenger, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, as well as his WhatsApp channel.

Meta told Reuters that the technical issues cited in the report were already public and the conversations it referenced related solely to the severity of the issues, not political interference.

A Brazilian court has ordered Meta to provide equal treatment of the two candidates ahead of the runoff, following a complaint filed by Lula that accused the tech giant of using biased algorithms and AI restrictions to favour opposition candidate Bolsonaro.

The ruling by Justice Marco Aurelio Bellizze orders Meta to ensure its artificial intelligence tool applies identical criteria to both candidacies and to pay a fine of 500,000 reais ($98,700) per day if it fails to comply.

According to Lula's party, some of his posts appeared without a share button and had reduced reach, with options for reactions, sharing, audio or accelerated speed also missing.