Brazilian courts order social media bans on influencers for hate speech

A judge in Rio de Janeiro's 26th Civil Court ordered Meta to suspend the Instagram account of influencer Gabriel Silva within two days, citing repeated xenophobic and hateful remarks toward Northeastern Brazilians. The decision, part of a public civil action by the Pernambuco Public Defender's Office, threatens a fine of 20% of the case value (R$ 976,000) if the order is not complied with.

In a separate ruling, the 2nd Civil Court of Madureira (Rio de Janeiro) prohibited Jairo Souza Santos, known as Coronel Jairo and father of convicted Jairinho, from publishing further offensive content about Leniel Borel. The judge imposed a R$ 5,000 fine for each violation and ordered Google to remove the implicated YouTube videos within five days, with additional daily penalties for non‑compliance. Both cases reflect Brazil's judicial crackdown on online hate speech and defamatory content.