Meta says it complied with Brazil election court order

Meta said it had complied with a Brazilian court order requiring it to treat the election campaigns of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flavio Bolsonaro equally.

The order followed a complaint from Lula's campaign that his online content was being suppressed. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, admitted there had been failings and blamed technical issues.

The dispute comes before Sunday's runoff election. Polls put the two presidential candidates neck and neck. Brian Pitts, assistant director of the UCLA Latin American Institute, said the row was important but its effect on the result was uncertain. He said the Supreme Electoral Court was unlikely to act before the vote. Disqualifying a candidate at this stage would be a massive step and probably massive overreach, he said.

Pitts said it was hard to establish Meta's intent. The company says the problem was a glitch. He added that it was undeniable that a Bolsonaro victory would probably be in the interest of big tech. He said Flavio Bolsonaro had argued for closer alignment with the United States, greater openness to American companies and deregulation of tech companies. That did not prove intent, he said.

Lula's camp has framed the episode as foreign interference. Pitts said foreign corporate interference and foreign government interference were different things. He said the argument was a classic one for Brazil's left and that nationalist arguments go down well in Brazil. He also pointed to the history of US interference in Latin America, saying some on the Brazilian left might argue that suspicion is warranted.

On the race, Pitts said odds makers gave Flavio Bolsonaro around an 80% chance. Poll averages were around 51% for Flavio Bolsonaro and 49% for Lula, with most surveys within the margin of error. He said the race was still too close to call but that Flavio Bolsonaro probably had the edge.

Corruption has become a central issue. At Sunday's presidential debate, the two candidates traded corruption accusations. Lula said he would release his bank records and communication records, and those of his immediate family, if Flavio Bolsonaro did the same. Flavio Bolsonaro had not responded. His camp was expected to ignore the offer. One more debate was scheduled for Friday, but it was not clear whether both candidates would take part.