By Carol Amancio
Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) is set to judge on Tuesday (Nov. 10), at 7 p.m. Brasília time, a lawsuit by the coalition of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, of the Workers' Party (PT), against Meta, the owner of Instagram and Facebook. Lula's campaign accuses the company of reducing the reach of the president's posts and of giving preferential treatment to Flávio Bolsonaro, of the Liberal Party (PL), in the presidential race. Meta denies everything.
The claim: “algorithmic selectivity”
The complaint was filed in October. In it, Lula's lawyers speak of “algorithmic selectivity.” They point to statistical differences in engagement between the two candidates and see in them evidence of favoritism toward Lula's rival. The filing also cites restrictions on reach and on the boosting of ads.
The rapporteur is Justice Marco Aurélio Bellizze, who had already imposed precautionary measures on the company during the most sensitive phase of the presidential election.
Meta AI enters the dispute
The case puts Meta AI, the generative artificial intelligence tool on the company's platforms, at the center of the debate. Lula's campaign argues that the tool repeatedly refused to generate images favorable to the president. In similar requests about Flávio Bolsonaro, the system allegedly complied right away. According to the coalition, tests submitted to the judges prove bias in the programming.
Meta's defense
The company rejects the accusations. In a filing to the court, it admitted technical failures in the ad system used by Lula's campaign and isolated distortions in the counting of video views. But it said the problems did not target anyone in particular and that its algorithms do not follow ideological or party criteria. Meta also denies having interfered in the electoral process or in the result at the polls.
What the TSE has already decided
Bellizze granted an injunction barring Meta from reducing reach, limiting recommendations or altering metrics of political-electoral content published by the two candidates. The fine was set at R$ 500,000 (Brazilian reais) per day of noncompliance. The full court confirmed the decision unanimously the following day.
The tribunal itself explained that the measure was preventive and meant to preserve equality in the final stretch of the election, even without definitive proof of intent. In other words, the injunction is not a verdict on the company's intentions.
In an opinion dated Oct. 22, the Electoral Public Ministry, the prosecutors' office that acts before the electoral courts, found that Meta had complied with only part of the orders. It recommended financial penalties. The company insists it fully obeyed the court orders.
Why it matters
The ruling will show whether the TSE sees in Meta's conduct anything beyond technical failures, and whether it imposes sanctions. It may also conclude that there is no proof of deliberate targeting. In either scenario, the outcome will serve as a reference for the use of algorithms and artificial intelligence in future campaigns in Brazil.
VDD Analysis
When the campaign of a sitting president takes a platform to court over engagement curves, the central issue is proof. The court itself acknowledged that there was no definitive demonstration of intent, and the injunction applied to both candidates. Differences in reach on social media can have many explanations, including the content, the mobilization of each camp and voter behavior. It is up to the TSE to separate suspicion from evidence, without fostering the idea that every unfavorable result on social media has a hidden culprit.
