Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed two decrees on Wednesday that add to the pressure on big tech companies by increasing their liability for illegal content shared by its users and paving the way for investigations by a government body into their responses to such cases.
The moves toughen the environment in Brazil for giants like Google, Meta and TikTok, who have long tried to dissociate themselves with crimes online committed by users.
The first decree makes key adaptations to government regulations to align them with a decision by Brazil’s Supreme Court making big tech companies liable if they refuse to remove content by judicial order. It also enables the country’s national agency of data protection to investigate those cases. The second decree establishes guidelines for the protection of women in the digital environment.
