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Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has fined Meta BRL 7.5 million or about USD 1.3 million for failing to comply fully with judicial orders during the presidential runoff. The court imposed the penalty unanimously on November 10.
The case concerns the contest between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Lula’s campaign alleged that Meta’s platforms treated the two campaigns unequally during the second round of voting.
The TSE said Meta delayed compliance with several directives, carried out others only partially, and provided incomplete or fragmented information. The court also criticized the company for submitting technical material in English, which hindered effective oversight by Brazilian electoral authorities.
On October 15, the court had ordered Meta to meet 17 obligations. These covered the distribution of political posts, paid advertising, artificial-intelligence tools and recommendation systems. Meta was required to show that its systems did not disadvantage either campaign.
The fine reflects nine days of non-compliance. The court set a daily penalty of BRL 500,000 for October 17-19, then an additional BRL 1 million for October 20-25.
The court found that the evidence did not establish that Meta deliberately manipulated its platforms to help Bolsonaro or harm Lula. Reporting judge Marco Aurélio Bellizze said the evidence did not establish a deliberate attempt to skew the election.
Meta has denied favoring either candidate. The company acknowledged that some advertisements from Lula's campaign were deactivated as a result of technical errors, but said it had complied with the court’s directives.
The ruling signals that Brazil’s electoral court expects technology companies to respond promptly and fully to its directives during elections. It also shows that a company can face financial penalties for compliance failures even when judges do not find evidence of intentional political interference.
For Meta, the decision highlights the importance of election-period compliance across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. The company must now demonstrate that it can meet Brazilian judicial requirements on content distribution, advertising and algorithmic systems
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