The theoretical-methodological problematization in circulation and platform research 215 “official” was also at odds with what was circulating in the public Telegram groups and those linked to then-president Jair Bol- sonaro11. Official authorities, such as the STF (Superior Federal Court) and the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) tried to intervene, through regulatory actions, on the operation of platforms in Bra- zil since the pandemic, but with more protagonism during the 2022 presidential election. Since the beginning of 2023, the Bill no. 2630, known as the “Fake News’ bill”12, has been under discussion. This bill, under debate in the Chamber of Deputies, was also linked to the discussion in the Senate of the Legal Framework for Digital Platforms (MLP)13. The Brazilian authorities have tried to legislate, like other countries, on holding platforms responsible for the content they broadcast (Borelli, 2022); however, it is not yet possible to have legal mechanisms to hold them responsible and sanction them. On the contrary, Alphabet-Google, which together with Facebook commands 80% of data traffic on the internet (Van Dijck et al., 2018), was recently accused of manipulating data through its al- gorithms on content related to the Fake News Bill14. The power of the Big Five, as Van Dijck (2022; 2021) warns, must be attacked so that democratic societies can defend and fight for their common ideals. The author argues that it is necessary to intervene in the governance of platforms, because “Allowing a handful of tech companies to define the principles 11 In 2022, it was estimated that the channels with the most members in Brazil would be linked to the then-president Jair Bolsonaro, his sons, and supporters. Telegram announced that some pro-Bolsonaro groups had been suspended as of March 2022 following an agreement with the Supreme Court. In October 2022, on the eve of the second round of the elections, the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) forced Telegram to take down groups of supporters. https://www.con jur.com.br/2022-out-28/tse-manda-telegram-excluir-grupos-bolsonaristas- pregavam-violencia2. Monitoring by Professor Fabricio Bevenuto de Souza from UFMG that was accompanying these profiles. Available at: http://www.monitorde-whatsapp.dcc.ufmg.br/ 12 Available at: https://www.camara.leg.br/proposicoesWeb/fichadetramitacao?i dProposicao=2256735 13 Available at: https://www.camara.leg.br/proposicoesWeb/prop_mostrarintegr a?codteor=2263075&filename=PL%2021 20/2023 14 In May, Google was questioned by the Federal Prosecution Office about the manipulation of data on PL Fake News. Available at: https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/politica/noticia/2023-05/mpf-questiona -google-sobre-campanha-contra-pl-das-fake-news
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