Brazil Electoral Court orders Meta to preserve data on profiles targeting Senator Flávio Bolsonaro

Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, to preserve data from a network of profiles accused of coordinated attacks against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. The decision, made by TSE President Minister Kassio Nunes Marques, responds to a complaint filed by Bolsonaro's Liberal Party (PL) on July 17.

The PL's complaint alleges the existence of a sophisticated scheme involving "phantom pages" funded by undisclosed sources to target Bolsonaro. According to the party's investigation, more than 50 pages published approximately 4,600 paid advertisements, accumulating nearly 250 million views. The PL estimates that this irregular sponsorship involved close to R$3 million, with payments even made in foreign currencies.

The representation details that these profiles share similar creation dates, use phone numbers with the same area code, and are hosted on the same platform. After boosting content, the accounts were allegedly deactivated and replaced by similar pages, making them difficult to trace. The PL is seeking a financial scheme investigation and the lifting of secrecy to identify the sponsors, administrators, and technical operators behind this network.

Lawyer Maria Claudia Bucchianeri, a former TSE minister and author of the complaint, described the identified structure as more sophisticated than the "digital militia" schemes observed in 2022. She explained that the network comprises a large number of individuals using third-party CPF numbers (Brazil's taxpayer ID) to open accounts and obtain payment methods for Meta ads. Senator Rogério Marinho, coordinator of Bolsonaro's pre-campaign, called the scheme an attempt to manipulate the digital environment and compromise the integrity of electoral debate, urging the electoral court to identify the network's financiers.