Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has reiterated his call for comprehensive regulation of social media platforms during the 14th Lisbon Forum, arguing that unrestricted digital spaces pose an existential threat to democracy. The speech comes as Brazil implements sweeping new rules that shape how global technology platforms operate worldwide.
The Forum Event and Key Message
Speaking at the opening session in the Aula Magna at the Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon, Moraes emphasized that no economic activity impacting billions of people has remained unregulated throughout modern history. Social media platforms, he argued, cannot continue to function as lawless territories where anonymous accounts incite violence, spread Nazi and fascist rhetoric, or encourage children toward self-harm and suicide.
The Lisbon Forum, organized by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes, hosts over 470 speakers across approximately 70 debate panels through June 3, with themes spanning artificial intelligence, platform regulation, child protection online, and technology's impact on democratic stability.
Why This Forum Matters
The Lisbon Forum represents an attempt to forge consensus among judicial, political, and economic leaders on governance principles for an interconnected digital sphere. Portuguese legal scholars, policymakers, and civil society organizations engage with their Brazilian and international counterparts as the contours of a new digital order are being negotiated in real time.
Among confirmed participants are Brazilian Central Bank President Gabriel Galípolo, Chamber of Deputies President Hugo Motta, Constitutional Council of Mozambique President Lúcia da Luz Ribeiro, and New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. The gathering includes parallel events addressing culture and economics.
Brazil's New Regulatory Framework
The Brazilian Ministry of Justice, under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration, published two major decrees in May 2026 that fundamentally alter the responsibilities of large technology companies. These regulations amend the Marco Civil da Internet, Brazil's foundational internet law from 2014, shifting the burden of proof and action onto platforms themselves.
The new framework introduces mandatory legal representation in Brazil for all application providers, permanent complaint channels, and mechanisms to prevent artificial networks from distributing illegal content. Platforms can now be held liable for what the legislation terms "systemic failure"—the inability to immediately remove content related to terrorism, suicide incitement, crimes against children, human trafficking, racism, misogyny, and anti-democratic acts.
One decree specifically targets violence against women online, requiring platforms to remove real or AI-generated intimate images within two hours of notification. The rules also prohibit artificial intelligence tools capable of creating "deepfake" intimate content—a provision that reflects growing concern about synthetic media across the European Union and beyond.
Oversight falls to the National Data Protection Authority (ANPD), which now possesses broad enforcement powers including the ability to levy fines reaching millions of euros and mandate market expulsion for non-compliant platforms.
How Global Platforms Shape Global Standards
While Brazilian rules don't directly govern Portuguese users, they influence how global platforms design their systems worldwide. When Brazil mandates two-hour removal windows for certain content, platforms often implement those capabilities globally rather than maintaining separate systems for each jurisdiction. This global standardization indirectly shapes the digital experience for Portuguese residents.
Similarly, Portuguese companies in digital marketing, content creation, or e-commerce increasingly navigate a complex regulatory matrix where Brazilian, European, and American rules intersect. The EU's Digital Services Act, fully operational since February 2024, already imposes transparency requirements, content moderation obligations, and protections for minors across all member states including Portugal. Portuguese residents experience these rules daily: clearer explanations when content is removed, options to view non-algorithmic feeds on major platforms, and prohibitions on targeted advertising to children based on personal data.
Brazil's approach diverges in certain respects. While the European Commission conducts investigations and requires transparency reports, the Brazilian model creates immediate legal liability for platform design choices and algorithmic amplification of illegal material. This divergence matters for Portuguese technology companies expanding into Latin American markets and for multinational platforms that must reconcile competing regulatory demands.
The X Episode and Its Broader Implications
In August 2024, Moraes ordered the complete blocking of X throughout Brazil after the platform refused to name a legal representative and comply with judicial orders related to disinformation campaigns. The suspension lasted 40 days, affecting more than 20 million users and depriving the platform of one of its largest markets.
Musk publicly labeled Moraes a dictator threatening free expression, but eventually capitulated to Brazilian demands. The standoff escalated into a diplomatic and economic conflict when U.S. President Donald Trump announced 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods in 2025, citing "hundreds of secret and illegal censorship orders" issued by Brazilian courts against American social media platforms. Although many sectoral tariffs were subsequently withdrawn, the episode demonstrated how platform regulation has become entangled with trade policy and international relations.
The Telecommunications National Agency (Anatel) president later characterized the episode as proof that Brazil possessed the technical and legal capacity to enforce digital sovereignty—a statement that resonates across regulatory discussions globally, including in Portugal.
Brazil's Digital Statute for Children
Brazil's Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents, which took effect in March 2026, prohibits children under 12 from accessing social networks not designed for them and requires parental confirmation for adolescents aged 12 to 16. It bans addictive design features like infinite scroll and autoplay for minors, mandates pauses, and suspends notifications during specified hours. The law imposes a 24-hour removal deadline for content involving sexual exploitation, physical violence, drug use, bullying, and incitement to suicide or self-harm.
These provisions exceed current Portuguese and EU standards, though they align with emerging European discussions about age-appropriate design and platform liability for algorithmic harm. Similar approaches are emerging in the United States, where at least 19 states have passed laws addressing minors' access to social media, often requiring age verification or parental consent, imposing daily usage limits, and restricting nighttime notifications. Nebraska's law, effective July 1, 2026, mandates platform-level age verification and parental consent for minors—provisions that mirror aspects of Brazil's regulatory approach.
Accountability Versus Expression: The Ongoing Debate
Academic and political reactions in Brazil reveal deep divisions over where to draw regulatory lines. The Brazilian Senate President, Davi Alcolumbre, has threatened to suspend the May 2026 decrees, arguing they exceed executive authority by circumventing the legislative process. Meanwhile, technology multinationals have mobilized resistance, and legislative sources suggest the government's 2025 regulatory bill may require years to mature through Congress.
A counter-movement defending what proponents call "pluralism" has emerged, with new think tanks and academic manifestos warning against what they characterize as escalating censorship disguised as democratic protection. These groups contend that judicial decisions have normalized prior restraint on speech and threaten the very freedoms they claim to safeguard.
The Brazilian Committee for Internet Governance (CGI.br) finalized a document in 2025 establishing ten principles for social media regulation, emphasizing respect for Brazilian law, human rights, freedom of expression, privacy, and combating incitement to hatred and violence. Yet translating principles into enforceable rules remains contentious.
Portugal's Position in Global Regulatory Discussions
Portugal's regulatory environment sits between Brazil's aggressive accountability model and the more fragmented American approach. As Portuguese legal scholars, policymakers, and civil society organizations participate in forums like the Lisbon gathering, they contribute to shaping international discussions about digital governance.
For residents of Portugal, the practical implications of these global discussions matter: how quickly illegal content disappears across platforms, what recourse exists when platforms make errors, whether children can be shielded from exploitation without infantilizing adolescents, and whether small European tech firms can compete against platforms with armies of compliance lawyers.
Moraes concluded his remarks by framing regulation not as restriction but as preservation—a necessary bulwark for the freedoms that democracies claim to protect. Whether that vision prevails, or whether it collapses under accusations of overreach and censorship, will shape the digital landscape globally throughout 2026 and beyond.
The Forum continues through June 3, with discussions on algorithmic transparency, artificial intelligence governance, and the intersection of technology with economic and social challenges.
