Brazil: Minister of Justice defends regulating freedom of expression 

Brazilian Minister of Justice Flávio Dino defended regulating freedom of expression in Brazil to “set the boundary between use and abuse.”

The statement came during a public hearing at the Supreme Court (STF) on Tuesday, 28.

“Freedom of expression is not at risk when it is regulated; on the contrary, to defend freedom of expression is to regulate it because it concerns the design and content of the right,” said the minister.

According to Dino, there is nothing “exotic, heterodox or sinful” in discussing the theme, which, according to him, needs limits to define the use and abuse.

The event at the STF discussed internet providers’ responsibility for users’ behavior and what is published on social media.

The minister said during the hearing that the debate about the use of social networks and their regulation is one of the priority themes of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government.

To justify the discussion on the subject, Dino cited the January 8 demonstrations in Brasília that, according to him, were articulated through messaging applications and social networks.

The Human Rights Minister, Silvio de Almeida, also attended the public hearing.

“It is a project that involves education. Therefore, we need to take on this task of putting an institutional brake that allows a cultural and ideological reorientation of society,” he said.

With information from Revista Oeste

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