Brasilia:Brazil's Superior Electoral Court has imposed a fine of 7.5 million reais ($1.34 million) on Meta for failing to provide complete information in response to judicial orders. These orders were related to allegations of political bias on Meta's platforms during the election campaign.

According to Anadolu Agency – English, the decision, which was unanimous and delivered on Tuesday, concluded that Meta did not adequately fulfill 17 measures mandated by the court. These measures were intended to clarify claims that Meta's platforms exhibited unequal treatment of content from rival presidential campaigns.

The case stemmed from a complaint by the coalition supporting President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's reelection. The coalition accused Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, of limiting the reach of pro-Lula content while favoring his rival, Flavio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party. Concerns were also raised about advertisements allegedly funded from abroad, negative political advertising created using artificial intelligence, and the removal of recommendations for pro-Lula posts.

The reporting judge, Marco Aurelio Belizze, criticized Meta's responses for a lack of transparency. He cited the use of foreign languages, aggregated data, and generic explanations that complicated the verification of allegations.

Meta has rejected the accusations of political favoritism, labeling them as false and unfounded. The company argued that differences identified in third-party studies did not consider variations in digital strategies and repeated video views across the campaigns.

The fine is not the end of the matter. The electoral court's examination of whether Meta gave any preferential treatment to candidates will continue, with no specific deadline set for a final ruling.