Brazil's TSE demands X explain candidate filter flaws

Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) is demanding answers from the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, regarding its system for filtering recommended content for candidates. Minister André Mendonça has given X 24 hours to clarify how its mechanism prevents posts from registered candidates from appearing on the "For You" feed.

The issue arose after a coalition, Brasil Pronto Pra Mais, filed a complaint alleging that X's system was incomplete. They claim the platform's code only accounted for 665 candidate accounts, while an additional 1,559 accounts were not covered by the filter. This alleged incomplete application could lead to unequal treatment among candidates, with some posts being amplified by the algorithm while others are not.

In his decision, Mendonça stated that electoral legislation does not appear to grant platforms the freedom to arbitrarily choose which accounts are excluded from recommendation systems. He emphasized that with the election campaign underway, any undue algorithmic recommendation could progressively and irreversibly amplify certain candidates' reach to users who do not follow them.

Mendonça requires X to detail its current filtering mechanism, the number of candidate channels and profiles actually excluded, and the data sources used. He also wants to know how frequently this list is updated and if the disclosed list matches the live system. If there are discrepancies, X must explain the technical or operational reasons behind them.