Brazil’s Prosecutor’s Office investigates Meta for LGTBIfobic hate

• The Federal Public Ministry (MPF), equivalent to the Prosecutor’s Office in Brazil, has requested data from Meta and five other entities regarding hate speech against LGBTQIA+ individuals.
• The investigation stems from a complaint by ANTRA and analyzes the effect of Meta’s policy changes on January 7, 2025.
• The MPF is still gathering information and has not concluded that Meta has committed any irregularities.

The Prosecutor’s Office in Brazil, through the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) in the state of Acre, announced on October 14, 2026, that it has requested information from Meta, SaferNet, the National Human Rights Ombudsman, the ANPD, IBICT, and Aos Fatos to analyze how hate speech against LGBTQIA+ individuals is moderated on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

What is the Prosecutor’s Office in Brazil investigating about Meta?

The MPF is investigating whether Meta effectively combats hate speech against LGBTQIA+ individuals on its platforms after changing its rules in January 2025. This is being done within a civil inquiry led by the regional prosecutor for Citizen Rights in Acre, Lucas Costa Almeida Dias.

The origin lies in the changes that Meta announced on January 7, 2025 in its Hate Conduct Policy. According to the MPF, it is primarily questioned whether the new policy allows content that associates mental illness or abnormality with gender or sexual orientation.

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According to the MPF, the data will serve to compare Meta’s response before and after those changes, verify the effectiveness of its detection and content removal mechanisms, and assess whether it meets its legal obligations.

Who filed the complaint against Meta?

The complaint was filed by ANTRA, the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals of Brazil. According to the media outlet Alma Preta, which reported the start of the investigation on January 17, 2025, ANTRA warned that the changes increased the vulnerability of trans and transvestite individuals to transphobic practices on Meta’s platforms.

At that time, according to Alma Preta, the MPF gave Meta’s office in Brazil a 20-day deadline to explain why it had removed explicit protection for LGBTQIAPN+ individuals. It also asked what measures it planned to take against LGTBIfobia, which in Brazil is equated with racism.

What data has the MPF requested and from whom?

The MPF has sent information requests to six recipients, asking each for different data. It requests from Facebook Brazil (Meta) details about its detection systems and how it applies the Hate Conduct Policy in the country. It also requests aggregated data and documents regarding the obligations set by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and the regulation of the Civil Framework of the Internet.

From SaferNet Brazil, it requests reports of LGTBIfobia on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, including those reported to Meta. It also asks for removed posts, response times, and cases that remained available after the company reviewed them.

From the National Human Rights Ombudsman, it demands data from Disque 100 and other channels regarding reports of violations against LGBTQIA+ individuals in virtual environments between January 1, 2024, and September 30, 2026. It will need to break them down by month and platform, by type of violation, and by the bodies to which the cases were referred.

From the ANPD, which the MPF note develops as the National Data Protection Agency, it asks for clarification on its role in overseeing the legal obligations of the platforms. The IBICT (Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology) must provide research on content moderation. The verification media Aos Fatos must facilitate records of its journalistic experiments on how Meta responds to reports.

Has the MPF concluded that Meta is breaking the law?

No. The MPF is still gathering information and has not concluded that Meta has committed any irregularities. According to the official note, the purpose of the requests is to support the continuation of the investigation and the possible definition of measures.

The portal AthosGLS, in an article from October 19, 2026, reports on Meta’s stance: the company claims that its changes aim to reduce erroneous content removals and focus its automated systems on illegal or more serious content. Neither the MPF’s note nor the other consulted media report a direct statement from Meta regarding this investigation.

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The precedent: more than 100 LGBTQIA+ profiles blocked

This is not the first time this procedure has focused on Instagram. On June 3, 2026, the MPF in Acre requested explanations from Meta regarding the suspension of more than 100 LGBTQIA+ profiles on Instagram that, according to the complaint, had a total of over 1.7 million followers.

This complaint was filed by Sleeping Giants Brazil and described mass blockages between May and June 2026, around May 17, International Day Against LGTBIfobia, and before the São Paulo Pride March. Some accounts were restored after media coverage, but shortly after, there were new suspensions.

The MPF then asked Meta what rules each profile had violated and whether the blocks were due to automated detection or coordinated mass reports. It also wanted to know the criteria used to reverse some suspensions.

Frequently asked questions

What is the MPF of Brazil?
It is the Federal Public Ministry, the institution that performs prosecutorial functions at the federal level in Brazil. In this case, it acts through its Prosecutor’s Office in the state of Acre.

What Meta platforms are being investigated?
Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, according to the official MPF note from October 14, 2026.

What did Meta change on January 7, 2025?
It modified its Hate Conduct Policy. According to the MPF, the new rule allows content that associates mental illness or abnormality with gender or sexual orientation.

Has Meta been sanctioned?
No. The MPF is still gathering data and has not concluded that the company has committed any irregularities.