Bolsonaro's administration at Petrobras goes to court to try to silence the company's Social Observatory.
The Social Observatory of Petrobras, linked to oil workers' unions, has become the target of attacks from the Bolsonaro administration at the company.
247 - In yet another episode of censorship by the Bolsonaro government, Petrobras management filed a lawsuit to take down the website of the Petrobras Social Observatory (OSP). The company alleges that by using the name Petrobras in its domain, the OSP is violating trademark rights. The Observatory's website was temporarily deactivated by court order. The OSP is contesting the injunction issued by the duty judge and hopes to have the domain restored as soon as possible.
In the lawsuit, the company claims that it only recently discovered Petrobras' Social Observatory through a report in Folha de São Paulo, published on October 28th. It further emphasizes that the article, based on data provided by the OSP, fails to mention that the organization is an independent channel with no ties to the company.
Contrary to what Petrobras argues, the reporter The quoted document clearly specifies that the Petrobras Social Observatory is linked to oil workers' unions.
Since its launch in April 2021, OSP has always made its identity clear: it is an organization driven by the National Federation of Oil Workers (FNP) and its five affiliated unions, the Brazilian Institute of Political and Social Studies (Ibeps), and the Latin American Institute of Socioeconomic Studies (Ilaese). This information is available on the OSP website and has been widely reported in the press.
Regarding the domain “observatoriopetrobras”, it is a website with no connection whatsoever to the company, whose purpose, as the name itself suggests, is to observe and disseminate information and journalistic material related to the company's policies. “The domain was created solely for the exercise of the right to freedom of expression and thought, with the objective of defending the interests of the oil workers' category and Brazilians,” justifies Adaedson Costa, general secretary of the FNP.
According to the federation leader, the mere existence of an information website bearing the name Petrobras does not mean that the brand is being used for profit or to damage the company's image. “For us, the intention of Petrobras' management is very clear. The company is using this lawsuit as a pretext to violate freedom of the press, silencing journalism, even though there has been no offense or illegal act committed by the Observatory. They want to censor the website and silence us, but we will fight to the end for the right to free expression of thoughts and opinions,” concludes the Petrobras worker.
What is OSP?
The Petrobras Social Observatory was launched on April 1, 2021, as an initiative of the National Federation of Oil Workers (FNP) and its five affiliated unions (Sindipetros Alagoas/Sergipe, Litoral Paulista, São José dos Campos, Pará/Amazonas/Maranhão/Amapá and Rio de Janeiro). The organization also includes the Brazilian Institute of Political and Social Studies (Ibeps) and the Latin American Institute of Socioeconomic Studies (Ilaese).
OSP was created with the goal of publicizing the consequences of the dismantling and privatization of Petrobras and has conducted a series of groundbreaking studies, sharing relevant data with the press, mainly regarding fuel and cooking gas prices and the sale of state-owned assets.
The Observatory has already published materials that prove, for example, that CNG (compressed natural gas) reached its highest real price of the century in November 2021 and that it is possible for fuels to be sold in the country at a more affordable price for the population.
In its nine months of operation, the Observatory launched two new tools on its website. In June, it created the Privatômetro, a kind of X-ray of privatizations, systematizing the sales of Petrobras assets from 2015 to March of this year, the period that marked the beginning of the state-owned company's divestment plan until the present day. And, in September, it presented the Fuel Price Monitor, a page that allows the public to track the escalating prices of cooking gas, gasoline, S-10 diesel, CNG, and ethanol, and also provides a comparison of price increases in relation to the growth of the minimum wage.
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