Brazil: Justice Alexandre de Moraes asks President Lula to monitor the use of social networks

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes appealed Tuesday to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to implement measures to “combat hate speech and violence in social networks.”

“What cannot be done in the real world cannot be done in the virtual world,” he said.

“We need once and for all to determine that what cannot be done in the real world cannot be done in the virtual world.”

“For me, it would be enough, President Lula, with an article in the law, to be regulated by Congress.”

“What cannot be done in the real world cannot be done in the virtual world; it is simple”, he insisted.

The request of the also president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has taken place during a meeting with different state representatives to address the latest attacks in the country’s schools, reports ‘O Globo’.

“Social networks are no man’s land; it is lawless land; we need to regulate that.”

“If there are no rules with certain models to follow, we will continue to see this instrumentalization of social networks to encourage attacks in schools, but more than that, increase in the number of suicides and cases of depression due to attacks on networks,” he said.

Moraes gave as an example some social network companies, which use moderators and artificial intelligence to remove content they consider harmful, and proposed that these same tools be used to combat “racist, homophobic, fascist and anti-democratic” speeches.

During his speech, Lula regretted that security in schools had been seriously affected by criminal groups, which from social networks encourage this type of action.

His government has already promised an investment of R$3 billion (US$590 million) to reinforce it.

With information from LGI

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