Toffoli Suspends Renan Santos' Digital Campaign and Fund Transfers

Renan Santos' presidential campaign, representing the Missão party, and his running mate Aroldo Medina have been suspended by TSE minister Dias Toffoli. The decision, announced on Monday (31), affects digital advertising, transfers from the Electoral Fund, and participation in debates.

The suspension and its effects

Toffoli's order halts the Missão ticket's digital electoral propaganda on profiles that were not disclosed to the Electoral Court. It also stops the disbursement of resources from the Special Campaign Financing Fund (FEFC) and any spending of already received funds. The ticket had already received R$ 3.3 million from the fund.

The ruling also bars the candidates from taking part in radio, television, podcast, and other media debates. The prohibition extends to vice‑president candidate Aroldo Medina, though it does not prevent street campaigning.

Omission of profiles and breach of equality

Minister Dias Toffoli, rapporteur of Renan's candidacy registration request, identified a “strategic omission” by the candidates. At the time of the registration request on August 7, only one X (formerly Twitter) account and a website were disclosed. Sixteen social‑media profiles, however, were presented on August 19, twelve days after the initial filing.

According to the minister, the omission created a loophole that allowed Renan Santos' profiles to remain subject to algorithmic recommendations, potentially granting an undue advantage. Toffoli noted that he observed such recommendations in queries made on August 29, citing a profile with 2.4 million followers that was running electoral propaganda and appeared among the recommendations for other candidates.

"Undisclosed networks benefit from opaque algorithms and evade social and legal control. They masquerade as ordinary users, operating on the margins of legitimate digital competition," the minister said, stressing that the late disclosure is not merely a formal error but a possible breach of equality among candidates and an indication of legal fraud.

Rules for digital electoral propaganda

Electoral law requires candidates, at the time of filing, to list every social‑media account that will be used for electoral propaganda. Profiles created during the campaign must be reported within 24 hours. Pre‑existing channels that were not disclosed at registration may only be used 48 hours after they are reported to the Electoral Court.

Advance communication of the addresses is necessary to allow oversight of propaganda and to prevent undue favoritism from platform recommendation systems. Toffoli considered that a candidate who hides campaign profiles and provides the information late commits a misuse of purpose.

Next steps and possible sanctions

Minister Toffoli ordered Renan Santos and the Missão party to inform, within 24 hours, the creation date and the start of use for each profile, as well as any other accounts or groups employed in the campaign. Internet service providers were notified to preserve content and suspend the profiles and their removal from recommendation systems, under a penalty of R$ 10,000 per hour per profile. Failure to deliver data on posts, boosts, and ads will incur a fine of R$ 50,000 per day.

Renan's defense must also comment on the alleged breach of electoral rules within the same deadline. Depending on the explanation, Renan Santos risks losing his candidacy registration and being excluded from the race, as the minister had already indicated when postponing the ticket's registration judgment.

Renan Santos' response

In a statement to columnist Mônica Bergamo, Renan Santos said, "this decision is a legal absurdity. Hundreds of candidates have faced problems at the TSE, and it is curious that this ruling falls on the only one who called for protests against Toffoli." The candidate continued his campaign schedule in São Paulo on Monday (31) and called a press conference for this afternoon in the state capital.

Information from G1, Folha de S.Paulo, Estadão.