nitially, it should be said that this text is not intended to discuss politics, although in some way it may provoke a reflection on the political fact, which is the debate on the regulation of social networks. It is merely a technical reflection on something that has gained worldwide prominence since Elon Musk’s recent statements in the case that became known as the Twitter Files.
Regulating social media is necessary, there is no debate on this point. Perhaps from a more technical point of view, it’s a pity that the political agenda dominates the discourse on regulation, since it may appear to the general public that the only purpose is to protect the political interests of specific groups, while in fact there is a whole apparatus that aims to give network users more governance, placing them at the heart of the legislation.
It is a fact that freedom of expression is dominating the debate, to the point of not even allowing people to know what else is behind the bills currently being debated. Basically, a dichotomy has been formed, with the staunch defenders of full freedom of expression and those who believe that freedom of expression is full, but not so much. On this specific point, there is nothing to add to the debate, since both sides have exhausted all possible concepts in their arguments, and it is up to the reader alone to decide which side they feel most strongly about.
As for the regulation of social networks, this is a topic that the Brazilian legislator needs to address in a more agile and technical way. After all, it’s not simply a question of what can and can’t be said in a virtual environment, but of a series of issues that are just as important, and which affect democracy and have a huge impact on the end user. This is the case, for example, with the protection of minors when using social networks, measures against the manipulation of platforms through the use of bots and fake accounts, liability for illegal content, combating disinformation and many other aspects.
*** Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) ***
Yago Morgan is a lawyer specializing in security and data protection. *** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***