Google aims to avoid ‘perverse’ regulation in Brazil, says executive

7:50 pm Tuesday, June 27th, 2023

By Patricia VilasBoas

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – The top executive of Google Brazil said on Tuesday the company encourages greater dialogue around regulating digital platforms in the country, in order to change a bill that might turn out to be “perverse” for everyone.

Nearly two months ago, country’s top court ordered an investigation into executives at social messaging service Telegram and Google who were in charge of a campaign criticizing a proposed internet regulation bill.

Bill 2630, also known as the Fake News Law, would put the onus on internet companies, search engines and social messaging services to find and report illegal material, and charge hefty fines for failures to do so.

Fabio Coelho, vice president of Google Inc and Google Brazil director, told reporters during an event that the company is in dialogue with Brazilian authorities and “is not against” the regulation of digital platforms.

“Google is always in the position of dialogue, the dialogue is to improve a regulation, so that it is not falsely good and turns out to be perverse for everyone,” he said, suggesting that all actors involved in the regulation should be taken into account.

Google is owned by Alphabet Inc.

According to Coelho, the company is in discussions with the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), and with the rapporteur of the so-called Fake News Law – lawmaker Orlando Silva, who handles the bill’s process in the Congress – and with the federal government over establishing regulation that “will be good to everyone.”

He did not specify what their demands would be or what complaints they have with the proposal.

In April, Google launched a manifesto signed by the company’s country director of government relations and public policy, Marcelo Lacerda, against the approval of “hasty” legislation.

Later the same month, the platform displayed on its search engine home page a message saying such a bill could “worsen your internet.” It redirected users to a blog post of text which was signed by Lacerda, which made numerous criticisms against the bill.

The bill is yet to be voted on in Congress.

(Reporting by Patricia Vilas Boas in Sao Paulo; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Matthew Lewis)