Jair Bolsonaro. Photo credit: Carolina Antunes/PR/Palácio do Planalto, under Creative Commons license

In response to a court order, Facebook has instituted a global block on certain accounts controlled by supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro that were pinned down in a fake news inquiry. The block comes a day after Facebook was fined to the tune of $370,000 for previously refusing to comply with the court order to block the implicated accounts. In a statement, Facebook said the court order was “extreme” and threatens “freedom of expression outside of Brazil’s jurisdiction”, but clarified that it’s agreed to it nevertheless.

“Given the threat of criminal liability to a local employee, at this point we see no other alternative than complying with the decision by blocking the accounts globally, while we appeal to the Supreme Court,” a Facebook spokesperson said. Facebook itself isn’t the only one who got a court order, as Twitter has also been ordered to institute a global block on implicated Bolsonaro supporters. Twitter doesn’t seem to have yet complied with the order and it remains unclear if it’ll face a similar fine as Facebook as a result. In all, the implicated parties consist of 16 Twitter accounts and 12 Facebook accounts, accounts that were linked to an investigation into the spreading of fake news during Brazil’s 2018 election.

Facebook was initially fined to the tune of $370,000 plus an additional $19,000 for each day of non-compliance. As stated, the social media giant is appealing the decision, stating that “Brazilian law recognizes the limits of its jurisdiction.”