Minister of the STF alleges that in his 2nd order he speaks in “publicized” interviews, but the text is ambiguous and demands from “ Veja” “the entire content of the audios” and from “CNN” and “GloboNews” the “completeness of any interviews”
Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court and president of the Superior Electoral Court, said in a message to Power360 that is not breaking the source confidentiality of cable news stations CNN Brazil and GloboNews and the magazine Look. On this Friday (Feb 3, 2023), Moraes had determined that these 3 vehicles should deliver the entirety of the recorded content of the interviews they did with the senator Marcos do Val (We can-ES). If they didn’t comply this decision within 5 days, TVs would be subject to a fine of R$ 100,000 per day.
Also later on this Friday, Moraes made a 2nd order replacing the 1st, changing the verbiage. The magistrate then wrote, ambiguously, that he required Look The “full content of the audios already publicized from the interviews given by Senator MARCOS DO VAL to the publication”. It’s from CNN and GloboNewsrequired “The full of any interviews already publicized granted by Senator MARCOS DO VAL”. There was no longer a fine for non-compliance with the decision.
The minister argues that because he wrote the expression “publicized”would not be breaking the secrecy of the source of journalistic vehicles.
In reality, the minister would not need to request videos from TV stations, because, as he writes, everything was “publicized” and is available on the broadcasters’ websites.
In the case of the magazine Look, the audio of the published interview would certainly have to be edited to be sent to the Supreme Court. It’s just that in printed vehicles, questions and answers are edited so that they gain more clarity when they are published in text.
Moraes’ decision leaves open the interpretation that he wants to have access to the complete audio and video files, the complete ones, of the interviews given by Marcos do Val –and not, as he now argues, which was “publicized”. If you want what is already published, you don’t need to ask for anything: just look and copy from the publications’ websites.
This interpretation is reinforced by the fact that Moraes had already made a decision based on published news, without requiring the vehicles to provide the entire content of documents or recordings.
The minister decided, for example, on August 23, 2022, to promote an action determining search and seizure operations at the homes of businessmen based on what had been published on a website – images of messages from a private WhatsApp group in which some members they said they preferred a blow to having Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) elected as president. One of the people just gave a thumbs up. All had their accounts blocked and their addresses searched by the Federal Police.
For this decision on the search, seizure and blocking of bank accounts in 2022, Minister Alexandre de Moraes did not notify the website that published the news to provide a copy of the entire content of the published messages. Just what was on the internet.
Now the vehicles Look, CNN and GloboNews published interviews with Marcos do Val. Everything is available on the internet. And Moraes requires access to “entire audio content” (in Look) and the “the entirety of any interviews” (published by CNN and GloboNews).
One option for notified vehicles is just to respond to the STF with the address of what they published on the internet. Or, alternatively, assign and send the complete audio and video files, without editing, to Minister Alexandre de Moraes.
If this 2nd hypothesis prevails, from now on, all journalistic communication vehicles in Brazil would have to prepare for the following situation:
1) a journalist does a taped interview;
two) edits the material and publishes it;
3) someone feels harmed and goes to court;
4) the judge orders the journalist to disclose the entirety.
What if in the middle of the recording (audio or video) there is a section in which the interviewee asks for confidentiality and only reports a fact on condition that the information is not published? In this case, providing the file would be a breach of trust between the journalist and the source. In short, there would be a breach of the secrecy of the source.
Even if there is nothing reserved in the entirety of a given recording, if Moraes’ decision prevails (to have access to the full audio and video), all Brazilian journalism vehicles are now obliged to disclose the entire content of these files, without editing .
#Moraes #published