Orlando Silva removes from the Fake News Bill the creation of an agency to oversee platforms.
Opponents called the agency the "Ministry of Truth" and said that the body could suffer ideological interference.
247 - The rapporteur for the Fake News Bill, Representative Orlando Silva (PCdoB-SP), made adjustments to the text to overcome resistance in the Chamber of Deputies. He removed the proposal to create a regulatory agency to supervise the platforms and made it clear that... There will be free exercise of religious worship and "full exposition" of its dogmas and sacred books., informs Folha de S. Paul.
The final report was filed on Thursday night (27) after negotiations with parliamentary groups in recent days, and the merits of the project are expected to be voted on Tuesday (2). The project under discussion establishes several obligations for social network and messaging app providers, including content moderation.
The previous report gave the Executive branch the power to create an autonomous oversight body to regulate aspects of the project, monitor compliance with the rules, initiate administrative proceedings, and apply sanctions in case of non-compliance. However, this point was criticized by the opposition, which nicknamed the body the "Ministry of Truth." They feared there was a risk of ideological interference in the agency and that content from opponents would be removed.
Orlando Silva also included a clause stating that the law must respect "the free exercise of religious expression and worship, whether in person or remotely, and the full exposition of its dogmas and sacred texts."
The report further stipulates that the parliamentary immunity provided for in the Constitution extends to social media and prohibits officeholders from restricting the viewing of their posts by other users.