Facebook is not obliged to monitor posted content, says Justice

Next, we come across news that Facebook is being sued for some reason. The reasons are numerous, however, the most common include the removal of offensive, defamatory content that may cause embarrassment to someone.

According to the Third Class of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), Facebook is not required to previously monitor everything that can be posted on the social network. According to Minister Nancy Andrighi, it would be "nothing more than the imposition of prior censorship of free expression on social networks".

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Also, another point she mentioned was that this type of analysis would be similar to breaching the confidentiality of correspondence and communications, something that is prohibited by law. The move would slow down the process of sharing information on social media. "This would bring a huge setback to the virtual world," said the minister.

According to information published on the website of the São Paulo Lawyers Association, the case began when a user began to receive threats on Facebook, which led to a lawsuit requesting the removal of the posts within 24 hours of the subpoena. If not done, the company would have to pay a fine of R$ 10 thousand for each content kept or inserted.

The São Paulo Court of Justice confirmed the decision. However, Facebook, when appealing to the STJ, said that it is not obliged to monitor or moderate each text or message that is published on the network. The explanation was understood by the collegiate and ended up reversing the situation, saying only that the company must immediately remove content as soon as something offensive is posted.