Brazil orders Google to halt campaign against speech bill

Brazil's Justice Ministry on Tuesday ordered Google to stop conducting what it called a propaganda campaign against Brazilian legislation aimed at curbing misinformation or face about $ 200,000 per hour in fines.

The company later Tuesday took down an article the ministry had labelled propaganda, but it was not immediately clear if the big tech giant was in complete compliance with the agency's order. The ministry and Google did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

The legislation, hotly contested by big tech companies including Google, would establish fines and deadlines for removing misinformation and hate speech from social media and messaging apps, and require tech companies to file reports on transparency.

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President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government says it is essential to regulate online discourse following a recent spate of fatal school attacks that officials argue was motivated by hate speech and social media forums. The bill was sent to the lower chamber on Friday and may be voted on this week.

On Sunday, Google published a message on its homepage arguing that the bill "could increase confusion about what is true or false in Brazil" and should be improved. The message redirected to an article written by the search engine's public policy department listing arguments against the bill.

Brazil's Justice Ministry accused Google of promoting a disguised editorial position and ordered the company to promote content which goes against its position. The agency also determined that Google needs to clearly indicate that its position is propaganda and needs to be transparent about any interference in its search engine to links related to the bill.

The agency said the company would be fined 1 million reais, or approximately $ 200,000, per hour if it failed to comply with the order. Google's message on its homepage, and the article, were removed Tuesday after the order's publication.

Brazilian lawmakers last week approved a request to speed up the approval process for the bill in the House. Analysts and big tech companies criticised the move and argued there was a need for further discussion.

The bill dates back to 2020 when it was approved by the Senate under Lula's predecessor, far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, but has since undergone substantial modifications and become much broader. If approved by the House, the bill will return to the Senate for a final vote.

Last week, Telegram was suspended by a judge after the messaging app refused to send information on profiles which spread Nazi speech. A few days later, another decision cancelled the suspension.