Meta, Google defend Brazilian law on responsibility for internet content

Meta and Google are defending a law in Brazil that says internet companies are not responsible for content that users post, unless the companies are subject to a court order

Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google appeared before Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday to defend a law that says internet companies are not responsible for content that users post unless the companies are subject to a court order.

The companies are appealing a 2017 lawsuit by a Brazilian woman who wanted Facebook to remove a profile and sued the company for compensation.

If upheld, their appeals could establish jurisprudence for future cases concerning liability for internet content, at a time when social media companies are under pressure in Brazil due to a surge of political disinformation.

Rodrigo Ruf, lawyer for Meta unit Facebook Servicos online do Brasil Ltda., defended the constitutionality of an article in the 2014 law governing internet regulation that says platforms are only responsible for users' content if they fail to comply with a court order to remove it.

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"We defend the constitutionality of article 19. It's a balanced solution," Ruf told a public hearing held by two Supreme Court judges on the appeals and attended by Justice Minister Flavio Dino.

At stake is the future of the article. According to Ruf, declaring it unconstitutional would increase removals of subjective content, including critical content that is important for democratic public debate. It is unclear what a standard for removing content would look like if the article is overturned.