Digital Law; Tech | Brazilian Superior Court Rules That Orders of Removal of Content Have International Reach

The Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) has ruled that Brazilian court orders for the removal of illegal content from the internet can be applied globally.

In a recent decision, Google was required to delete a defamatory video from YouTube in all countries where the content was available.

Minister Nancy Andrighi, the reporting judge, argued that, as a global service, the internet requires judicial orders with international reach to ensure their effectiveness. However, this interpretation raised questions about the potential impacts on the sovereignty of other countries, freedom of expression, and the limits of Brazilian judicial power.

For technology companies, this understanding creates new operational and legal challenges. The imposition of measures with extraterritorial effects increases the risks of conflicts between laws and could generate additional costs in complying with these orders. In this specific case, Google argued that the Brazilian judiciary should not impose content restrictions outside the national territory, considering that the laws of other countries may permit what is considered offensive in Brazil.

Part of the panel warned that decisions of this kind could set precedents that are difficult to apply in practice and interfere with the exercise of foreign jurisdictions. The lack of international coordination on the matter makes these orders even more complex, especially in a digital landscape marked by a diversity of regulations and legal interpretations.

Although the majority of the STJ panel understood that the global nature of the internet justifies broad-reaching decisions, the debate over the limits and feasibility of such measures remains open. Nonetheless, this precedent establishes an important milestone in the interpretation of jurisdiction in the global digital environment.

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