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Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro
Photo: Joedson Alves / EPA
The right-wing populist Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has issued a decree that makes it difficult for Internet platforms to delete content. According to the Federal Secretariat for Communication, the decree issued on Monday aims to prevent "the arbitrary and unjustified deletion of accounts, profiles and content by the providers". Previously, Internet platforms had repeatedly removed statements by Bolsonaro due to the spread of false information about the corona virus. He had called this "censorship".
The decree is provisional but has yet to be ratified by Congress to become law.
It names a number of circumstances under which deleting content or blocking users is "justified".
This includes crimes or calls to violence.
The decree also tells the platforms how to proceed in such cases.
"This provisional measure significantly limits the possibilities of limiting abuse on our platforms," a Facebook spokesman told the AFP news agency.
"We agree with legal experts and professionals who view the measure as a violation of constitutional rights."
Opposition politician Alessandro Molon said he was preparing legal action to overturn the presidential decree.
"His goal is not to protect freedom of expression," Molon said of Bolsonaro.
What the president wants to achieve "is to prevent the disinformation and hate speech that he and his supporters spread from continuing to be removed from the platforms."
Bolsonaro is fighting against bad poll numbers
Bolsonaro announced the decree on the eve of Brazil's Independence Day.
In view of declining popularity, a weakening economy and disputes with the judiciary, Bolsonaro wants to go on the offensive on Independence Day on Tuesday and has called on his extreme right-wing supporters to rallies in Brasilia and São Paulo.
Most recently, Bolsonaro was far behind the left-wing ex-President Lula in polls.
In Brazil there will be elections in autumn 2022.
tse / AFP
