DIGITAL PLATFORMS, FAKE NEWS AND REGULATION: THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL NOTES FROM BRAZILIAN AND INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Abstract

The overall objective of this article was to study digital platforms and forms of regulation. Using a qualitative-quantitative methodological approach, with historical, statistical, and bibliographical analysis, it addresses the problem of balancing freedom of expression with forms of regulation of Big Tech companies. It concludes that the inclusiveness of the digital public sphere, within a framework of broad freedom of expression and social and opinion pluralism, poses the challenge of controlling fake news and illegal activities. Freedoms are not absolute; legal rights have effectiveness costs. It is necessary to weigh freedom rights in the digital environment. Controls should take the form of self-regulation, combining principles of public order with the centrality of user autonomy as agents in the process. The Supreme Federal Court's decision on the Brazilian Internet Bill of Rights (Marco Civil da Internet - MCI) did not end the debate on the self-regulation of digital platforms in Brazil.