FEDERAL SUPREME COURT AND DIGITAL PLATFORMS: DIGITAL CONSTITUTIONALISM, DEMOCRACY AND THE CHALLENGES OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Abstract

This article examines how digital constitutionalism can rebalance economic freedom, innovation, and rights protection in the face of Big Tech's platform power and the data economy. It aims to analyze, historically and currently, the tension between market and regulation and answer whether self-regulation is sufficient to safeguard fundamental rights and state sovereignty. Methodologically, it adopts a literature review and comparative method, linking the metaphor of the medieval merchant to the contemporary performance of platforms and the recent Brazilian experience, focusing on the Supreme Federal Court's decision of June 26, 2025, which reinterpreted Article 19 of the Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet. Among the main findings, we highlight the direct liability of platforms for illegal content after extrajudicial notification, with safeguards for the inviolability of private communications and requirements for transparency and public reporting, establishing a new paradigm for digital governance. It concludes that only a robust framework of digital constitutionalism, integrated with data protection, combating disinformation, algorithmic transparency, and international cooperation, can contain asymmetries, preserve informational integrity, and guide socially responsible innovation.

DOI: 10.56238/edimpacto2025.038-003