Limites aos abusos na propaganda eleitoral em mídias sociais: diagnóstico com base em recursos de Vitória da Conquista nas Eleições 2020

Abstract

Limits to abuse in electoral propaganda on social media is the subject of this study. It is worth clarifying that, in this case, limits are considered to be the preventive or repressive instruments, both judicial and extrajudicial, existing and to be proposed to prevent abuses in electoral campaigns carried out on digital platforms accessible to the general public. In this context, abuse is defined as any act that violates fundamental rights, whether collective or individual, provided for in the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988 (CF/88), as well as those that disrespect the infra-constitutional legislation about the matter. However, the the big question to be faced in this work, that is, the problem we are seeking to solve, is how to impose limits on the most frequent abuses without, although, mitigating the right to freedom of expression and free access to information. Based on this premise, the general objective was to critically analyze the tools available to combat abuses in the context of electoral propaganda, more strictly those disseminated through the most commonly used social media, initially identified as Instagram and Facebook. And, more specifically, to suggest preventive and repressive measures, as well as to look for flaws and gaps in the national legislation, for the purpose of detect them, indicating a way for possible inconsistencies to be remedied. In this path, the aim is to help reduce conflicts involving irregularities related to electoral propaganda and, consequently, to help reduce the number of lawsuits involving the matter and resulting from the use of new social media. Thus, in order to justify the choice of theme, exploratory quantitative research was carried out in the database of the Regional Electoral Court of Bahia (TRE-BA), to demonstrate the growing number of lawsuits involving the subject. In parallel, qualitative research was also carried out, through a literature review (bibliographic research), documentary research and analysis of posts made on social media and object of representation in legal proceedings in the municipality of Vitória da Conquista in the 2020 Elections, sent to the Electoral Court of Bahia in degree resource.