The government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is discussing a regulation that would determine how big tech companies must make available data on the ads and paid boosts they sell on their platforms, Folha de S.Paulo reported on Tuesday (25), citing members of the government. According to the newspaper, the talks are centered at the Ministry of Justice, and there is still no consensus on which data companies would have to release or on the level of public access to that information.

Today, the only digital advertising transparency obligations in Brazil apply to companies that allow paid electoral advertising, under rules from the TSE, the country's electoral court. In this year's general election, only Meta and Kwai offer that kind of service. A future ordinance, Folha reports, would cover advertising on any topic.

The stated priority of government officials is to fight and investigate fraud and scams carried out through social media ads. A decree issued by the government in May, based on the terms of a Supreme Federal Court ruling, already required companies to keep data on ads aired on their platforms for one year. The text, however, left the way oversight bodies would access that information to future regulation.

If the new rule is published and takes effect still during the campaign, it would open one more channel to oversee platforms that say they do not allow the boosting of political content. The measure would help verify whether they are in fact blocking that kind of ad.

According to Folha, government members met in recent weeks with representatives of companies and organizations linked to the sector to discuss the issue, but there is no certainty a decision will come before the end of the current term. One of the sources heard by the newspaper cited the ad itself and the advertiser's name as basic data that could potentially be public. The amount paid for the advertising is seen as more sensitive information.