Meta Platforms Inc. (META) is back in the hot seat in Brazil. Days before the Oct. 25 presidential runoff, the company is facing fresh scrutiny over technical restrictions that affected President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's Instagram campaign account, along with the recommendation of challenger Flavio Bolsonaro's accounts.
Meta employees acknowledged in internal messages that the restrictions hindered Lula's accounts during the election, Folha de S.Paulo reported on Friday, citing messages it reviewed.
Meta Denies Political Bias
According to the report, the messages also said the platform recommended the profile and WhatsApp channel of challenger Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.
Meta said the technical issues cited in the report were already public. It said the conversations concerned their severity, not political interference.
"Any suggestion that Meta favors one side is false," the company said in a statement to Reuters.
Regulatory Risk Builds for Meta Ahead of Runoff
Earlier this week, Lula's party said it would file a complaint with the Organization of American States, alleging Meta manipulated social media during the election. It said some posts lacked a share button or had reduced reach.
On Thursday, a justice at Brazil's top electoral court ordered Meta not to unjustifiably limit the reach of political content tied to either candidate through the end of the runoff campaign. The ruling also bars Meta AI, its chatbot, from favoring either candidate.
Lula faces Bolsonaro in the runoff after the senator outperformed expectations in the first round.
Trading Metrics
Meta has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a 52-week high of $779.82 and a 52-week low of $520.26.
Over the past 12 months, the large-cap stock has fallen 0.39%.
