(Reuters) – Google has hired Brazilian former President Michel Temer to lobby lawmakers considering a proposal to regulate the internet, local newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo reported on Friday.
The legislative proposal, also known as the Fake News bill, would put the onus on internet companies, search engines and social messaging services to find and report illegal material, and charge hefty fines for failures to do so.
The bill has raised concerns from tech companies, with some launching campaigns on their platforms to defeat it.
Nearly two months ago, the South American country’s top court ordered an investigation into executives at social messaging service Telegram and Google who led a campaign criticizing the proposed regulation.
Folha de Sao Paulo reported that Temer confirmed he has been working as a “mediator” between the company and lawmakers for about three weeks.
Temer denied holding conversations with senior judges, but Folha said he has met lawmaker Orlando Silva, who is managing the internet legislation, to communicate Google’s point of view on the bill.
Google and Temer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Brazil newsroom; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by David Alire Garcia and David Gregorio)
