Communication policy and on-line campaigns: evolution analysis of the Brazilian’s electoral legislation on the use of internet as a campaign tool

Abstract

In Brazil, only from 2009, began to be admitted legally the use of social networks and blogs for political campaign purposes. Before the creation of Law 12.034, the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) edited resolutions, attributing responsibility to local election judges to settle disputes involving the use of social media in campaigns, which presents itself as another case of judicialization of politics. The paper analyzes both the advancement of Brazilian electoral legislation on the uses of new social media, as of the debate in the plenary of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) since the rules of the 2002 election until 2012. Methodology used is the analysis of content, through a quantitative approach to verify the rules imposed on devices of resolutions of the law and its amendments, in every election, and a qualitative study of legislation, case law and the legislative debates arising and actions judged in TSE before and after the enactment of Law 12.034/09.