Opposition in Brazil launches anti-censorship bill

By Claudio Dirani

The opposition to Lula’s government believes to have found an antidote to the escalating censorship that now targets big techs like Google and Telegram.

After the Supreme Court forced the news service to delete a message sent to its users warning of the dangers of Law PL 2630/2020 (Fake News or Censorship Law), 57 deputies signed Bill PL 2501/2023 (Anti-Censorship Law), which adds two articles to the already passed Law on Abuse of Authority.

The one that prevents the removal and alteration of political content on private property, and the one about the suspension or shutdown of platforms for the same reason.

According to the signatories of the anti-censorship bill, the recent decisions applied by the Federal Supreme Court also violate the Constitution’s stony clause on freedom of expression.

Federal Deputy and member of the former ruling House of Orléans-Braganza, Luiz Philippe de Orleans e Bragança (PL-SP), is one of the signatories of the “Anti-Censorship Bill”.

In an interview with theBrasil Sem Medo outlet, the congressman commented on the chances of the bill being approved in the legislature.

“The project is like a “give and take” to guarantee that there is no abuse of public agents,” explains Luiz Philippe.

“They (Justices of the STF) make mistakes. With the change in the law, they will think twice. Of course, there are obstacles. If it goes through the commissions with any PT (Lula party) deputies, they will want to take it off the agenda,” he laments.

Despite everything, Luiz Philippe de Orleans e Bragança bets that the new increase in the abuse of authority law has a better chance of succeeding in the House.

“We know that Lula will want to buy everybody,” he observes.

“They will not abandon the censorship agenda. A dictatorship lives on censorship and propaganda. Despite this, the bill can be filed alone. It has the support of many deputies (57 in all).”

“If we manage to vote on the urgency issue, it has a good chance of being voted on,” says the deputy, comparing the case with the recent urgency request approved by the House for the Censorship Bill.

“If it goes through the normal process, it may take longer. It will need a rapporteur to go through the committees,” he ponders.

“Besides this project, we are working on several other fronts to prevent censorship,” he says.

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