Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies approved urgent vote on fake news law

Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies approved a request for an urgent vote on a bill on fake news. This kind of request gives permission to analyse a bill directly without the need to go through a special commission first. The bill has been on hold since June 2020, when the Senate first approved it.

On 25 April, the urgency request was approved by 238 votes to 192 and will be discussed next week. The bill promotes transparency of social media companies and private messaging services, especially regarding providers’ liability when combating misinformation. The proposal also suggests strengthening transparency concerning sponsored content and the actions of public authorities. The new law would also establish fines and imprisonment of one to three years for anyone who promotes or finances the spread of messages that contain ‘a fact that is known to be untrue’, and that may compromise the electoral process. Some of the deputies who opposed the proposal were also the ones who voted against the urgency agreement. For instance, deputies within Novo, The Liberal Party (PL) and the Frente Parlamentar Evangélica positioned themselves against the urgent vote.