Facebook bows to Brazil judge, blocks 12 accounts worldwide

Facebook announced Saturday it has obeyed a Brazilian judge's order for a worldwide block on the accounts of 12 of President Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters who are under investigation for allegedly running a fake news network.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said Friday night that the company had failed to fully comply with a previous ruling ordering the accounts to be shut down, saying they were still online and publishing by changing their registration to locations outside Brazil.

Moraes said that Facebook ought to pay $ 367,000 in penalties for not complying with his previous decision during the last eight days.

He also had ruled Twitter should block the accounts. While Twitter said then the decision was “disproportionated” under Brazil’s freedom of speech rules and that it would appeal, the targeted profiles were disabled.

At: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/facebook-bows-brazil-judge-blocks-12-accounts-worldwide-72123377

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wears a face mask with his likeness during a recent press conference; he was diagnosed with Covid-19 on July 7.

The hard-right Bolsonaro has seen already middling approval plummet amid one of the world's worst Covid responses, with 2.7 million cases and 93,000 deaths.

He is also under investigation after files were discovered targeting "anti-fascists."