Brazil’s ‘fake news bill’ sparks outcry from big tech firms; judge orders Google, Meta to testify

The Brazilian government is taking a stand against all big tech firms campaigning against thenew internet billwhich might be one of the world’s strongest legislation on social media. Bill 2630, also known as the "Fake News Law," aims at cracking down on fake news, alleging undue interference in the debate in Congress.

Tech firms, including Apple and Google LLC, have strongly campaigned against the law. The search engine in Brazil had added a link connecting blogs against the bill and had been urging users to lobby their representatives, Reuters reported.

However, Justice Minister Flavio Dino on Tuesday ordered Google to change the link, warning that the company had two hours after the notification or would have to face fines of one million reais ($198,000) per hour if not done so.

Following this, the US tech firm pulled down the link but defended its right to communicate its concerns through the "marketing campaigns" on its platforms and denied altering search results to favour the bill.

In a statement, the company said, "We support discussions on measures to combat the phenomenon of misinformation. All Brazilians have the right to be part of this conversation, and as such, we are committed to communicating our concerns about Bill 2630 publicly and transparently."

The proposed law was to be voted on Tuesday in the lower house of Congress but was postponed by Speaker Arthur Lira, followingopposition from Conservative and Evangelical lawmakers and allowedfor more debate.

The critics say the bill needs "wider debate" because it was hastily drawn up, allows censorship and states that companies would have to pay content providers and copyrights for materialposted on their sites.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday urged the executives of Google, Meta and Spotify to testify within five days explaining their respective concerns.

The Brazilian antitrust regulator Cade stated that it would investigate the tech companies' campaigns against the bill.

The bill was hastened even as several new provisions added to it have not been debated in the Congressional committees before going to the vote.

(With inputs from agencies)

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