Brazil’s supreme court has ruled that social media platforms can be held legally responsible for users’ posts, in a decision that tightens regulation on technology giants in the country.

Companies such as Facebook, TikTok and X will have to act immediately to remove material such as hate speech, incitement to violence or “anti-democratic acts”, even without a prior judicial takedown order, as a result of the decision in Latin America’s largest nation late on Thursday.

The move follows rising concerns in Brazil about harmful digital content, especially its impact on young people, and will feed the global debate about the boundaries of online free speech. The decision was attacked by critics who warned it could lead to pre-emptive censorship by tech groups.