Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has unanimously ordered Meta to pay a fine of 7.5 million reais, about $1.3 million, for failing to comply with court orders during the country's presidential election. The seven judges voted 7-0 on Tuesday 10 November, finding that the company missed deadlines and lacked transparency in its investigation.

Lula ads blocked for almost a day

The case began with a complaint from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's re-election campaign, which accused Meta of favouring his rival, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, in the second round of the election. The court examined an Instagram block that stopped ad placements for Lula content for nearly 24 hours between 9 and 10 October. The TSE had earlier instructed Meta to take steps guaranteeing equal distribution of content to both candidates.

No deliberate manipulation found

Judge Marco Aurelio confirmed that the court found no deliberate manipulation by Meta. The company admitted that technical glitches had mistakenly deactivated several of Lula's campaign advertisements, and the court said the information Meta supplied was incomplete, generic or in another language.

Lula won the runoff on 25 October, defeating Bolsonaro in a surprise result. Bolsonaro has not accepted the defeat and has left Brazil for the United States, where police are investigating him over alleged money laundering. The ruling comes as Lula's government signals plans to tighten oversight of major technology platforms.