A presidential decree published in the Official Gazette this Sunday (1st) creates the Secretariat for Digital Policies, in charge of policies to combat misinformation and hate speech on the internet, in conjunction with the Ministry of Justice.
Headed by João Brant, who was executive secretary of the Ministry of Culture in the Dilma Rousseff (PT) government, the secretariat will propose policies related to digital information services and measures to protect victims of rights violations in the online environment.
Among the attributions of the secretariat, which is subordinated to Secom (Special Secretariat for Social Communication), is also the formulation of policies for the promotion of media pluralism and for the development of professional journalism.
One of the lines evaluated is the Australian Bargaining Code, which provides for arbitration for internet platforms to negotiate payment for news content produced by press vehicles.
“There have been several experiences to strengthen professional journalism, there is Australia, but there is also Canada, with another line, there is the European Union, and we intend to look at this topic by evaluating international experiences to do something that strengthens diversity and pluralism,” says Brant.
Brant holds a PhD in political science from the University of São Paulo, with a master’s degree in regulation and communication policy from the London School of Economics.
Heading the secretariat, he will also be in charge of proposing and implementing policies for the promotion of Brazilian content in the digital environment and designing public media education programs. The idea is somewhat similar to existing national content requirements for pay TV for video on demand and streaming.
According to Brant, the secretariat will not directly propose moderation policies for the platforms. “The world is discussing moderation criteria and mechanisms to protect the public interest, but it is not up to the secretariat to propose policies directly, it will be up to discussion”, she said.
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