Brazil - June 2025

On 3 June, President Lula da Silva promulgated Law No. 1958/2021, which expands the share of new positions in the federal public service that are reserved for minority groups from 20 to 30 per cent and adds Indigenous and Quilombola (descendants of enslaved people) as potential beneficiaries of the quota system. The new law replaces Law No. 12,990/2014, in place since 2014, which had reserved 20 per cent of federal employment vacancies for Black or mixed-race people but did not include Indigenous or Quilombola groups. The measure was presented as an effort to continue addressing structural inequalities in the country and to create public offices that are more reflective and representative of Brazilian society. The law is the result of broad discussions over two years that included parliamentarians, civil society, and oversight agencies. The new quota system will be reviewed after ten years.

Sources: CNN, Presidencia Brasil, AP news

On 26 June, the Federal Supreme Court (STF) ruled that parts of Article 19 of the Internet Civil Rights Framework are unconstitutional, as they fail to protect fundamental rights and democracy. Article 19 held platforms liable for removing illegal content only after a judicial order. The STF ruled that, until new legislation is passed, companies must now actively monitor posts and take down reported illegal material (e.g., incitement to terrorism or anti-democratic acts, child pornography, racism). For crimes like calumny or defamation, platforms will be liable only if they ignore a court order. Freedom of expression experts argue that regulating social media platforms is critical, but the STF’s ruling failed to ensure protections for free access to information and against censorship, granting platforms discretionary power to define what content is illegal and subject to removal. Without legislated transparency measures, they warn, platforms could censor content based on private economic or political interests.

Source: AP News, Agencia Brasil, Supremo Tribunal federal, Oglobo, Artigo 19, Association for Progressive Communications