Ache a Regra
Observatory of terms of use of digital platforms that gathers and organizes the rules and policies of eight digital platforms operating in Brazil.
The expansion of internet access and the penetration of social networks and messaging apps has transformed the ways in which people communicate and access information and has placed new players at the center of these dynamics. As communication intermediaries, internet platforms have emerged as new protagonists in these dynamics, being responsible for designing the architecture through which content circulates, and playing a key role in controlling and regulating these discourses. Whether due to the regulatory arrangements and moderation practices forged since the first intermediaries appeared on the web, or due to the very place of intermediation they occupy, the rules on content defined by these platforms and their moderation processes are central and strategic elements in the regulation of online communication.
It’s not always easy to identify which rules and processes apply in cases of content moderation. To facilitate this access, achearegra is an observatory that organizes the rules and processes of eight digital platforms, Kwai, Linkedin, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Telegram, TikTok, Whatsapp, X (formerly Twitter) and Youtube into 24 thematic categories, which make it easier to navigate and understand their terms of use. Its tools allow you to search by platform and class of rules, as well as instructing users on how to make a complaint.
We believe that knowing and understanding the policies defined by these intermediaries is essential to better perceive how the regulation of online content works, its strengths and its shortcomings, allowing us to act in an informed way that contributes to advancing discussions on transparency and best practices for content moderation. achearegra arises from this attention. As a platform that brings together and organizes rules, policies, terms of use and general procedures for content moderation, it aims to facilitate access to and consumption of these materials by organizing and categorizing them in a single space.
As these policies are dynamic and undergo periodic updates, we always try to keep the information on this platform up to date.
Methodology
achearegra‘s methodology is based on a search of the rules and terms of use websites, as well as the blogs and communication channels of the eight platforms covered by the project. Given the need to keep the observatory up to date, we periodically scan our primary research sources.
Publications to date: