The company Meta declared this Friday, the 23rd, that the WhatsApp channel named 'Lula's Army' is not in disagreement with the guidelines established by the company.
In its attached technical declaration, Meta detailed that the analysis of the channel confirmed the absence of policy violation, also presenting the methodology used to identify infringing content. Furthermore, the response addressed data protection issues, providing information on available data, forwarding, and clarifying that there is no paid service on this interface.
This statement occurred in response to a request made by the president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Kassio Nunes Marques, who granted a 24-hour deadline for Meta to send a comprehensive technical report on the 'Lula's Army' channel.
Nunes Marques' request was motivated by a requisition from the PL candidate's campaign for President, Flávio Bolsonaro, regarding the verification of the compliance plan signed by the company with the court. This plan describes the actions implemented by Meta to prevent and reduce risks to the integrity of the electoral process.
The judicial decision requires Meta to specify the technical criteria it uses to distinguish between 'legitimate mobilization' and 'potentially irregular coordinated behavior.' The minister responsible for the case emphasized that the focus of the evaluation lies in the 'confrontation between measures formally communicated to the Electoral Justice and the functioning of the questioned mechanism.'
Additionally, Meta informed this Friday that WhatsApp channels operate under different rules than those applied to Instagram and Facebook. The messaging app's terms of service explicitly prohibit the use of the platform for purposes such as 'coordinating harm, publishing falsehoods or distortions, impersonating someone, or sending illegal or unauthorized communications, such as mass messages, automated messages, or auto-dialing.'
