Tokyo court rejects entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa's lawsuit against Meta over scam ads

Brazil's electoral court has fined Meta, the parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram, approximately $1.3 million for alleged algorithmic bias during the 2022 presidential election. The fine, imposed by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), stems from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's claim that the tech giant tipped the scales in favor of his Bolivarian Republican Alliance (PSDB) rival, Flavio Bolsonaro.

Lula alleged that Meta engaged in "algorithmic manipulation" to favor Bolsonaro during the October 25 runoff vote. Despite Lula coming in second during the first-round ballot, he ultimately prevailed in the presidential runoff. The TSE unanimously ruled that Meta had failed to comply with court orders, miss deadlines, and lacked transparency in its investigation. However, the court's reporting judge, Marco Aurelio, stated that there was no evidence of deliberate action to skew the election.

Meta had previously denied the accusations but acknowledged that some of Lula's campaign ads were mistakenly deactivated due to technical errors. Lula, after his electoral victory, vowed to regulate social media companies. Flavio Bolsonaro, who refused to acknowledge his loss in the runoff, fled Brazil for the United States amid an ongoing investigation into him for alleged money laundering.