Trump's return sends waves through Brazil's digital policy

Donald Trump's return to the White House this year is already reshaping Brazil's approach to technology and social media regulation, highlighting how US politics can influence policy far beyond its borders.

The shift was almost immediate. Just days after Trump took office, Brazil's Federal Prosecution Office called a public hearing to discuss how social media platforms should monitor user content. This comes as US tech companies signal plans to loosen their content moderation policies under the new Trump administration, marking a sharp turn from Biden-era oversight.

At the center of this changing landscape stands Elon Musk, who has taken on a new role as a special government employee of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Musk, who owns X (formerly Twitter), has already clashed with Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and shows no signs of backing down.

The timing is particularly significant for Brazil, which is in the midst of overhauling its digital regulations. In December, the country's Senate approved two major pieces of legislation: one aimed at protecting young people online and another establishing rules for artificial intelligence systems.

The youth protection bill would require tech companies to verify users' ages, implement stricter privacy settings and allow for parental controls. It would also ban companies from using minors’ data for targeted advertising.

Meanwhile, the AI bill would create different rules for AI systems based on their potential risks, with authorities such as Brazil's telecom regulator and central bank overseeing AI in their respective sectors.

Brazil is also considering new ways to regulate Big Tech's economic power. One proposal would give the national telecom regulator broader authority over digital platforms. The government is pushing for updates to antitrust laws, with Finance Minister Fernando Haddad recently presenting a list of priorities that includes legislation to promote competition in digital markets.

In a significant development that further entangles US and Brazilian digital policies, Donald Trump's media company filed jointly with Rumble a lawsuit against Moraes last Wednesday, claiming that he violated freedom of expression rights when ordering Rumble to remove accounts from some Brazilian right-wing commentators currently based in the US. 

The lawsuit asks that the US court system offer protections for the two companies against potential decisions by Moraes. This filing happened a few hours after Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro and 32 other people were criminally charged by the Federal Prosecution Office in Brazil for allegedly conspiring to plan a coup after Bolsonaro’s electoral defeat in 2022. The alleged plan would have included assassinating President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Justice Moraes.

Two days after the companies initiated legal action against Moraes, the judge ordered Rumble to be blocked in Brazil for failing to comply with court orders — including a requirement that the platform appoints a legal representative in the country.

In response, the North American firms filed an emergency motion to overturn the ruling, contending that the decision “violates American sovereignty, the US Constitution and US laws.”

The developments suggest that Brazil's digital policy landscape will likely experience significant transformation throughout 2025, shaped by both domestic priorities and the changing political climate in Washington.

While the full effects of these changes remain to be seen, one thing is clear: Brazil's digital policy landscape will likely see significant shifts throughout 2025, influenced both by domestic priorities and the new direction in Washington.