The Supreme Federal Court considers allowing a vote that could fatally wound internet journalism

247 - A report published by O Globo newspaper this Tuesday suggests that the clash between X owner Elon Musk and Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Supreme Federal Court, could revive actions that may severely harm internet journalism. "The threats of non-compliance with the Supreme Federal Court (STF) decisions by X owner (formerly Twitter), Elon Musk, may soon lead the Court to judge two actions dealing with the Civil Framework of the Internet's rules on social networks' responsibility for content posted on the platforms," the report states.

According to O Globo, "Minister Dias Toffoli, the rapporteur of one of the actions, is considering releasing the case and, if this happens, the president of the STF, Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, would be willing to include the topic on the agenda for the magistrates' consideration."

The case reported by Toffoli deals with social networks' responsibility and the constitutionality of Article 19 of the Civil Framework, which states that 'the internet application provider can only be civilly liable for damages resulting from content generated by third parties' - if it does not comply with a judicial order to remove content.

Article 19 of the Civil Framework of the Internet is what guarantees freedom of expression for millions of Brazilians and for the media operating on networks - which does not mean that the internet is "lawless". Everyone acting on the internet and on networks can be sued for the content they publish. If platforms start to be held radically responsible for what their users post, the tendency is that journalism, a natural field of political and ideological confrontations, will be suppressed from the networks, which would favor the old private communication monopolies in Brazil. That is why there is talk of a "duty of care," and not of total responsibility of the platforms, but it is necessary to be aware of the movements of media groups that were more influential in the past and have been losing power in Brazil and worldwide.