Brazil electoral authority warns against employing artificial intelligence in electoral campaigning News
CNJ, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Brazil electoral authority warns against employing artificial intelligence in electoral campaigning

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court President Alexandre de Moraes warned Thursday that candidates of the 2024 municipal elections may face disqualification or have their mandates rescinded if they employ artificial intelligence to attack opponents. De Moraes said that the 12 resolutions that govern the elections will allow the court to combat distortion from artificial intelligence in electoral campaigning.

The Superior Electoral Court approved 12 resolutions to combat misinformation and the illicit use of artificial intelligence in electoral campaigning. The court added Articles 9-C and 9-E to Resolution No. 23,610/2019. Article 9-C prohibits the dissemination of fabricated content, and Article 9-E holds providers of information jointly liable if misinformation is not immediately removed during the electoral period.

The Superior Electoral Court agreed on Wednesday with Minister of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil Cármen Lúcia’s proposal to update electoral standards in light of the emergence of new technologies. Lúcia emphasized the importance of understanding the influence of new technologies on voters and standards of acceptable information from legal and constitutional perspectives. She also said that technology will not be used to undermine democracy and the freedoms of voters.

Relatedly, on December 5, 2023, de Moraes and the president of Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement to allow direct communication between the court and the agency. On October 20, 2022, Brazil’s national electoral authority approved rules to limit online disinformation. The rules targeted “the systematic production of misinformation, characterized by the persistent publication of false or decontextualized information about the electoral process.”

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