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Brasilia, Jun 23 (Prensa Latina) Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) resumes today the trial after the majority of its ministers voted in favor of holding social networks responsible for the illegal publications of their users.

So far, the entire court advocates for the platforms to be civilly liable before the courts for improper content, such as anti-democratic publications and against the electoral system.

Also for hate speech (racism and homophobia), incitement to crimes against the authorities and live broadcasts that induce suicide and self-harm in children and adolescents.

Justices Antonio Dias Toffoli, Luiz Fux, Flávio Dino, Cristiano Zanin, Gilmar Mendes, Alexandre de Moraes and the president of the STF, Luís Roberto Barroso, voted in favor of the commitment of social networks.

The only dissenter was Justice André Mendonça. Justices Edson Fachin, Kassio Nunes Marques and Cármen Lúcia Antunes have yet to issue their opinions.

The court is ruling on the constitutionality of article 19 of the Civil Framework of Internet Rights, a rule that also established the duties for the use of the network of networks in the South American giant.

One of the actions discusses whether or not this section is constitutional.

Such article requires that a specific court order be issued before websites, Internet service providers and social networking applications are held liable for harmful content posted by others.

The law, which came into force in 2014, functions as a sort of Constitution for the use of the virtual scenario in Brazil, as it establishes principles, guarantees, rights and duties for users and companies.

The majority criterion in the Supreme Court is that companies such as Google, Meta and X can be held civilly liable for illegal content even without a court order, in specific cases, such as serious crimes, systemic failures and sponsored publications.

During his vote, the rapporteur of one of the cases, Dias Toffoli argued that this liability model provided for in Article 19 of the Internet Civil Rights Framework is unconstitutional because, since its enactment, it has failed to provide effective protection of fundamental rights in virtual environments.

Fux, rapporteur of the other action, also voted in favor of the partial unconstitutionality of the norm, pointing out that the provision compromises the protection of fundamental rights and the fight against disinformation.

In De Moraes' opinion, the failure of self-regulation was demonstrated by the call for anti-democratic acts on January 8, 2023, carried out openly by social networks without any intervention by the platforms.

The reform must be applied in every public or private company… Ignoring the law is to break democracy, he said. At midday on Wednesday, Colombian president Gustavo Petro will sign the Labor Reform law, which Congress approved on June 20.

His signature will put this law into effect, returning rights and recognizing the dignity of working people, the Colombian president said on social media.

“We invite you to the Quinta de Bolivar Museum House in Bogota to celebrate this historic act by which workers win. Colombia wins!” it added.

During a demonstration in Medellin on Saturday, Petro announced that thousands of Ministry of Labor inspectors will be hired to ensure compliance with the reform.

“In Colombia, labor reform was implemented 34 years late. There are Colombians who have not been able to live their lives because before the 1991 Constitution, they had no labor rights, and after that Constitution, they waited 34 years,” said Juan Carlos Monedero, an academic and international political analyst.

“The reform must be applied in every public or private company, from media outlets to factories, from the countryside to working-class neighborhoods. Ignoring the law is to break democracy,” the Colombian president said.

The law seeks to improve conditions for more than 10 million formal workers registered in the country. Among its most important benefits is the gradual increase in the additional compensation paid to workers who labor on Sundays or holidays to 100 percent.

The labor reform also defines nighttime working hours as beginning at 7 p.m., establishes employment contracts for apprentices of the National Learning Service (SENA) and eliminates the possibility of hiring workers by the hour.