BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil's government said on Tuesday it is "seriously concerned" about Meta Platforms' recently announced changes to its hate speech policy, adding that it believes they do not comply with the country's legislation.
Facebook owner Meta last week reduced curbs on discussions around contentious topics such as immigration and gender identity, while also scrapping its fact-checking program in the United States.
The Brazilian government ordered the social media company, which also owns Instagram and Threads, to explain its plans, which President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had previously labeled "extremely serious."
Meta in a letter to the South American country reiterated that changes to the fact-checking program for now would only apply to the U.S., and said that changes to its community standards were "limited" to the hate speech policy.
The move, the company added in the document shared by Brazil's government, was aimed at securing greater freedom of expression.
The office of Brazil's solicitor general (AGU) in a separate statement said that "some aspects of the Meta document cause the government serious concern," highlighting the changes to the hate speech policy, which apply to Brazil.
"AGU and other ministries understand that the current terms of use, as well as the changes now informed by Meta, do not fit with Brazil's legislation and are not sufficient to protect fundamental rights," it added.
Brazil will hold a public hearing later this week to discuss the topic with experts.
(Reporting by Ricardo BritoEditing by Mark Potter)