BRASILIA – Brazil's Superior Electoral Court has asked social media companies Meta and X to provide, within 24 hours, technical explanations of their use of artificial intelligence, the distribution of political content, the publication of electoral ads and the removal of posts ahead of the presidential runoff on Sunday.

The decision, announced Friday, was made Thursday night by the court's inspector general Ricardo Villas Boas Cueva, who set a daily fine of 500,000 reais (about $100,000) for each company in case of unjustified noncompliance.

The measure responds to an electoral investigation brought by a political coalition supporting incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is seeking reelection against opposition candidate Flavio Bolsonaro.

With the runoff approaching, Cueva demanded that the companies explain the criteria for content distribution and any differences in treatment between the candidates competing for the presidency.

United Nations experts sent a letter to Meta earlier this week seeking an explanation of alleged unequal treatment of the presidential candidates in Brazil.