TSE Minister Blocks New Suspension of 'Exército do Lula' Channel by Individual Decision

The Minister Floriano de Azevedo Marques, of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), determined on Friday (23) that the WhatsApp channel Army of Lula will not be able to undergo new suspensions or restrictions through individual decisions of members of the Court. The measure was taken after the campaign of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), candidate for re-election, resorted to Justiça Eleitoral to avoid a new interruption of the group’s activities.

With the decision, any measure involving the suspension of the channel should be submitted to the plenary of TSE. The minister’s understanding is that, once the discussion has been referred to the collegiate body, isolated decisions on the same subject no longer have backing as to the competence for judgment.

The positioning comes amid a dispute between Lula’s campaigns and Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) over the use of social networks during the presidential race. Administered by federal deputy André Janones (Rede-MG), Lula’s Army has approximately 9.6 million subscribers and has been the target of questions presented by the opponent’s candidacy.

Lula’s campaign resorted to the TSE to avoid further suspension

Floriano’s decision was motivated by a preventive security warrant presented by the petista campaign. The aim was to prevent the channel from being taken off the air again after a series of court decisions that have led to suspensions and reactivations in recent weeks.

On Thursday, the president of TSE, Kassio Nunes Marques, had asked Meta, the company responsible for WhatsApp, for detailed information on the operation of the channel. The measure responded to a request from the Flávio Bolsonaro campaign, which questions the performance of the communication space.

In examining the case, Floriano considered that the request submitted by the PL’s application had as its purpose a possible interruption of the channel’s activities, even if this consequence was not expressly indicated in the request for information.

The minister also differentiated the administrative supervision carried out by TSE from the application of electoral penalties. According to his understanding, the verification of the fulfillment of the commitments made by the digital platforms does not, in itself, authorize the imposition of sanctions against candidates, parties or people who do not contest the election.

TSE denies having certain WhatsApp channel withdrawal

The possibility of a new suspension gained repercussions after André Janones issued an alert to the participants of the Army of Lula. The MP said he had received information about the risk of the channel stopping working after the delivery of a technical report requested to Meta.

The chairman of TSE had granted the company a 24-hour period to clarify the channel’s activities.

The court issued a statement on Friday clarifying that it had issued no order to remove WhatsApp transmission channels from the air. The Court also stressed that shorter deadlines for submitting information are common in processes related to electoral propaganda and do not necessarily represent the application of penalties.

Digital platforms are charged for equal treatment

The discussion was also present at a meeting held on the morning of Friday (23), involving the management of TSE, ministers responsible for electoral propaganda processes and representatives of technology companies, including Meta, TikTok and Kwai.

During the meeting, Kassio Nunes Marques charged the digital platforms for measures to guarantee equivalent conditions of action to the applications of Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro.

The Justiça Eleitoral also requested the reinforcement of the teams responsible for monitoring content and for complying with the electoral rules in this final straight of the presidential campaign.

The two applications have submitted complaints about the behavior of the platforms. While Lula’s team questions a possible difference in the distribution and reach of posts on Instagram, Flavio’s campaign points to suspicions of coordinated actions to influence search results and artificially expand the circulation of content favorable to the president.

The channel has been suspended before.

The dispute involving the Lula Army had one of its main episodes on October 11, when Kassio Nunes Marques ordered the suspension of the channel. The decision considered the disclosure of information previously classified as false by Justiça Eleitoral.

Among the contents questioned were publications related to an alleged position of Flávio Bolsonaro on the title of Nossa Senhora Aparecida.

The decision was later reversed by the electoral co-executive officer, Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva. The case, however, had new developments after Nunes Marques again determined the suspension, this time on the grounds that the channel had links to the official campaign of Lula and should be registered in Justiça Eleitoral.

After the registration was regularized, the president of TSE authorized the resumption of activities.

The new decision of Floriano de Azevedo Marques does not prevent the operation of the channel from being questioned judicially, but it establishes that a possible suspension should be analyzed in a collegiate way, and not by individual determination.

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