Facebook Ignores Brazilian Justice and Maintains Censorship of News Organization Jornal do Rio de Janeiro

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The Big Tech company Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, continues to ignore a ruling from the Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Nova Iguaçu District) and has kept the official page of the Jornal do Rio de Janeiro offline for over a year and a month, causing ongoing and unrepaired damage and, to this day, without receiving any fine. How long will this continue?

The Jornal do Rio de Janeiro continues to be the target of severe prior censorship imposed by Meta, the technology giant behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Despite a clear and favorable court decision by the Brazilian justice system, Meta has kept our page, which even has a commercial company and domain verified on the platform itself, offline for over a year, in flagrant disregard of a court order, causing irreparable damage and without significant penalties.

The issue began on May 6, 2024, when, arbitrarily, unilaterally and without any justification, the Facebook platform removed the official page of Jornal do Rio de Janeiro, preventing the outlet from fulfilling its social role of informing society.

Eletrônicos: SUA MÃE MERECE!

At the time, we published a report denouncing the incident: Jornal do Rio de Janeiro Has Its Page Taken Down and Faces Censorship – an article published on May 28, 2024, that brought public attention to this serious attack on press freedom and the constitutional right to information.

Faced with the company’s silence, which didn’t even respond to administrative requests for the page’s restoration, a lawsuit was filed with the Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro (TJRJ), Nova Iguaçu District, seeking moral damages and, most importantly, a court order for the immediate reactivation of the page.

On August 29, 2024, a favorable ruling was handed down to Jornal do Rio de Janeiro. Judge Samantha Maia, from the Nova Iguaçu District, concluded that Meta had indeed committed a service failure, constituting abuse, violation of the Consumer Protection Code, and breach of constitutional principles that guarantee freedom of the press.

The court ordered Meta to reactivate the page within 20 days, under penalty of a fine to be determined in enforcement, and sentenced the company to pay R$ 5,000 in moral damages, an amount that represents only a fraction of the accumulated losses.

Although the initial claim was R$ 23,000, more than 10 months have passed since the ruling, and 1 year and 1 month since the arbitrary censorship. Meta continues to openly defy Brazilian justice in a clear and persistent manner, keeping the Jornal do Rio de Janeiro’s page offline to this day, with no fine, no sanctions, and no effective measures to force compliance with the court order.

The aggravating factor: The ruling did not impose a daily fine (astreintes) for failing to restore the page, which, in practice, has allowed Meta to disregard the court order without any serious consequences so far.

The Constitution is Clear: Censorship is a Crime

The Federal Constitution of Brazil is unequivocal:

Article 5, item IX: “Freedom of intellectual, artistic, scientific, and communication activity is ensured, regardless of censorship or license.”

Article 220: “No law shall contain provisions that could hinder full freedom of journalistic information in any social communication medium. All forms of political, ideological, and artistic censorship are prohibited.”

This case represents a clear and direct violation of democratic principles and the rule of law. Meta disrespects not only the rights of the Jornal do Rio de Janeiro, but also the Brazilian society’s right to free, plural, and independent information.

A Dangerous Precedent

What is currently underway is a dangerous precedent: a foreign big tech company, operating in Brazil, refuses to comply with a ruling handed down by a Brazilian court, openly challenging authorities, the Constitution, and the fundamental rights of citizens.

If a private foreign company can simply ignore a decision from the Brazilian judiciary, what does this mean for national sovereignty and citizens’ rights?

A Global Pattern of Violations: Fines, Noncompliance, and Threats to Sovereignty

Meta’s behavior and the need for heavy sanctions are not surprising when analyzing the company’s track record. The case of Jornal do Rio de Janeiro fits into a global pattern of disregard for justice, documented both in Brazil and abroad, where the company only acts after the imposition of severe penalties.

In Brazil, the record is extensive and involves all levels of the Judiciary:

Mass Data Violation (Cambridge Analytica Case): The company was ordered to pay R$ 6.6 million for the unlawful sharing of data from Brazilian users. The decision was officially released by the Ministry of Justice.
Press Censorship (Revista Piauí): Facebook was ordered to republish content removed from Revista Piauí. The Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro imposed a daily fine of R$ 20,000.
WhatsApp Blocks: Meta refused to cooperate with criminal investigations, resulting in multiple court-ordered blocks of WhatsApp. The Federal Supreme Court (STF) even held a public hearing to discuss the case.
R$ 500,000 Fine by TRF-3: The Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region upheld a fine for failure to comply with a court order requiring data disclosure.
R$ 520,000 Fine for Fake Profile: Facebook was held accountable for not removing a profile used for scams. The daily fine, initially R$ 10,000, was increased to R$ 20,000. Source: Conjur.
R$ 254,000 Fine for Delay in Reinstating Account: Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) upheld a R$ 254,000 fine against Facebook for delaying the reinstatement of an Instagram account, in violation of a court order. Source – STJ
R$ 50,000 Fine Upheld by the STJ: The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ruled the fine for noncompliance was proportional.
Electoral Fine (TRE-MS): The Regional Electoral Court of Mato Grosso do Sul fined Meta R$ 75,000 for failing to remove illegal campaign ads during the electoral period.

Internationally, the behavior is repeated on an even larger scale:

European Union: The Irish data protection authority imposed a record fine of €1.2 billion for illegal data transfers to the U.S. Source – Reuters
United States (FTC): The Federal Trade Commission imposed a $5 billion fine in the Cambridge Analytica case.
United States (Settlement): Meta agreed to pay $725 million to settle a class action lawsuit over privacy violations.
Germany: The antitrust authority Bundeskartellamt prohibited Facebook from combining WhatsApp and Instagram data without explicit user consent.
Australia: The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) obtained a conviction and a fine of AUD 20 million for deceptive practices in data collection.

Commitment to the Truth

The Jornal do Rio de Janeiro reaffirms its commitment to the truth, to democracy, and to the ongoing fight for press freedom. It will continue to denounce any form of censorship, abuse of power, or disrespect for the laws and the Federal Constitution.

“We are facing a serious attack on press freedom and a blatant disrespect for Brazilian justice. This is not just a problem against our organization but against the constitutional right of society as a whole to free and plural information. We trust in the justice system and are fully convinced that truth and justice will prevail. Our struggle is, above all, a defense of democracy, the sovereignty of our country, and the principles that uphold the rule of law.”

— Management of Jornal do Rio de Janeiro