The Conflict between Freedom of Expression and Other Fundamental Rights and the Issue of Fake News: An Approach According to the Brazilian Federal Constitution

Abstract

Freedom of expression is a fundamental right described in the Federal Constitution and one of the pillars of the Democratic State of Law. One of the ways to exercise this right is in the manifestation of thoughts and opinions through social networks and other internet applications. However, many times these manifestations end up having offensive or false content, violating guidelines established by the social networks’ management and agreed to by the user, causing, through moderation, these posts to be deleted. In this context, the Bill n. 3227/2021 arises, which aims to limit the power of moderation of social networks in the exclusion of posts and accounts, which has amplified the debates about the limits to freedom of expression and the possibility of limiting the moderation of social networks in the face of free enterprise, in the face of content with fake news or offensive to intimacy, honor and image. Thus, this article, in a literature and legislation review, observing the exploratory descriptive method, aims to analyze the constitutionality or otherwise of Bill 3227/2021, notably under the focus of the conflict between the fundamental rights to freedom of expression and intimacy, honor, image and right to accurate information, as well as free enterprise.