TSE gives 12 hours for Meta to explain reach of Nikolas

The Corregedor-General of Justiça Eleitoral, Minister Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva, ordered on Thursday (22) that Meta present, within 12 hours, detailed technical and metrics on the scope and distribution of publications of federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira (PL-MG) on Instagram. The decision responds to an urgent request from the coalition that is contesting the second round of elections, scheduled for Sunday (25).

According to the decision, the proximity of the elections does not allow indefinite extensions. The minister stressed the urgent need for the information to evaluate the injunction request to suspend the recommendation of these profiles to non-followers. The order provides for a fine of R$ 100,000 per hour in case of non-compliance.

Meta had already received extra time

Meta had already obtained an exceptional 24-hour extension and provided preliminary clarifications, but without the quantitative data on the origin of the views and the division of audience between followers and non-followers. The company claimed to require additional extraction and technical validation steps.

The corrector considered the initial response of the platform insufficient. For him, the absence of specific metrics prevents the correct analysis of the request to suspend the algorithmic recommendation. The new coercive order seeks to fill this gap in a timely manner.

X complied with the request and revealed the standard

In justifying the order against Meta, the corrector pointed out that X (formerly Twitter) complied with the judicial request and provided statistics that prove the direct impact of the algorithms on the political reach. The X data showed that before deactivating a recommendation tool, impressions generated by followers accounted for most of the reach.

However, after disabling the tool (October 14-18), the proportion of impressions generated by followers dropped to a range between 28% and 41%. This revealed that the majority of views came to be driven by algorithmic distribution to non-followers. The minister used this comparison to demonstrate the relevance of the data requested to Meta.

Atypical scope motivates coalition request

The atypical reach recorded in Nikolas’ recent Instagram posts — including a video on criticism of Lula by Northeasterners — prompted urgent new requests from the coalition. The adversary candidate’s defense argues that algorithmic recommendation to non-followers can configure undue boosting of electoral content.

Cueva’s decision does not examine the merits of the prosecution, but only determines the production of technical evidence. The minister stressed that the measure is necessary to ensure equal conditions in the elections. The Goal has not yet been publicly stated about the new order.

Next steps and electoral impact

From the notification, Meta will have 12 hours to deliver the data. If it does not comply, the daily fine can reach R$ 2.4 million. The deadline coincides with the eve of the second round, which increases the pressure on the platform.

Electoral law experts heard by the portal assess that the decision could set a precedent for other actions against digital platforms. The case also reignites the debate about the transparency of algorithms in electoral periods. The Superior Electoral Court must judge the injunction application after the delivery of the data.

Read Also

Elections 2026: deadline for rallies and electoral propaganda ends on Thursday (22)

TSE meets Flávio Bolsonaro request and demands Meta investigation on pro-Lula channel

Datafolha: Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro tie with 50% in the second round

Font

www.gazetadopovo.com