Bill No. 3227/20201, which intends to modify Internet content moderation rules, is sent to the National Congress

As reported in our last e-alert, on September 6, 2021, President Jair Bolsonaro signed Provisional Measure (“MP”) No. 1.068/2021, amending the Brazilian Internet Legal Framework, which regulates the use of the internet in Brazil.

The MP was criticized by different sectors of society, who argued that it did not meet the applicable formal and material requirements. On September 14, 2021, the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco, returned the MP to the Government, as he understood that it violates the fundamental requirements set out in the Federal Constitution. With that, the rules established in the MP are no longer valid.

On the same day, Justice Rosa Weber, of the Supreme Court, had suspended the effectiveness of the MP, by granting an injunction made by political parties and the Brazilian Bar Association in direct unconstitutionality actions filed against the MP. According to the Justice: “[the] explanatory memorandum of MP 1.068/2021 did not undertake the burden of demonstrating in a reasoned and sufficient manner the presence of the urgency requirement, notably in matters of such complexity and vicissitudes, to evidence the absence of such constitutional requirement, which results in an apparent formal unconstitutionality”. Then, given the return of the MP by the president of the Senate, the Justice considered that the unconstitutionality actions had lost their purpose.

Therefore, at the present time, the rules proposed in the MP for application providers are not into force. However, although the discussion regarding the MP has ended, the debate will continue, as the President submitted to the National Congress on September 20 Bill of Law No. 3227/2021, which has identical propositions as the MP. Our team will continue to monitor this new Bill and the respective debates, and is available for any queries.