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Brazil Investigation Part 3: Person Dossiers, Entity Network Map, and Additional Findings

Part 1: Felipe Melo Franca: MBL Co-Founder to Big Tech Lobbyist

Identity

  • President and sole registered officer, Conselho Digital do Brasil (CNPJ 35.808.843/0001-01)
  • Law degree UFPE, postgraduate in Digital Law UERJ-ITS, Georgetown McDonough (GCLP, Instituto Ling scholarship), WIPO and Friedrich Naumann Stiftung certifications

Career Pipeline: Protest Movement → Congress → Corporate Lobby

  1. ~2013: Co-founds Movimento Brasil Livre (MBL) with Fábio Ostermann. created as a brand for Estudantes pela Liberdade (Students for Liberty Brazil) members to participate in protests without jeopardizing SFL's US tax-exempt status
  2. ~2018-2019: Parliamentary adviser to Deputy Luciano Bivar (União-PE, national party president)
  3. 2019: Parliamentary adviser to Deputy Vinícius Poit (Novo-SP), then-president of the Frente Digital. Poit appoints Franca as executive secretary of ICD
  4. November 7, 2019: Instituto Cidadania Digital registered. Initial registered partner: João Paulo Nemoto Sabino de Freitas (iFood public policy director, Amobitec president). his email in the ICD statute used @ifood.com.br
  5. 2019-2023: ICD serves as executive secretariat of Frente Parlamentar Digital for three terms
  6. August 2023: ICD leaves the Frente "by mutual agreement"
  7. ~2023-2024: Entity rebrands to Conselho Digital do Brasil. Receives direct corporate funding from Google, Meta, Amazon, TikTok, X, Discord, Uber, Kwai, Hotmart, 99, Mercado Livre
  8. 2026: Entity receives Medal of Legislative Merit from the Chamber of Deputies

Ideological Network

Franca sits at the intersection of the libertarian organizational network and the corporate tech lobby:

  • Students for Liberty (US-based, counselor)
  • Livres movement (Council of Benefactors member)
  • Friedrich Naumann Stiftung (German liberal foundation, certified)
  • Atlas Network pipeline
  • Instituto Ling / Georgetown (scholarship)
  • Partido Novo deputies (Poit, Adriana Ventura, Paulo Ganime) who populate the Frente Digital

The Zero-Capital Anomaly

An entity with R$0 declared capital, a single registered officer, no public financial reports, and no auditable records operates as the primary lobbying vehicle for companies with a combined market cap exceeding $5 trillion.

Revenue model: ICD was maintained by Amobitec (Uber, 99, iFood), Câmara-e.net (60+ companies paying monthly fees including Google, Meta, Mercado Livre, Twitter, TikTok, Amazon, Airbnb), and ALAI (Google, Meta, Twitter, TikTok, Zoom, Airbnb). After rebranding, Conselho Digital receives direct corporate funding.

Documented lobbying: Monthly events in Brasília (breakfasts, happy hours, "post-carnival" parties). July 2024: organized closed-door brunch at upscale Brasília restaurant for Senate staff from AI Regulation Commission to present Big Tech views. described as cooptation of Senate employees.

Documented Meeting with Meta and Evangelical Caucus

A meeting involving Deputy Sóstenes Cavalcante, Deputy Pastor Eurico, ICD founder Felipe Franca, and Meta's team (Kaliana Kalache, Marconi Machado, Mario Vilhena) was documented by Agência Pública. Sóstenes said he "did not remember it."

Sources:

Part 2: Additional Deputy Findings

Gustavo Gayer (PL-GO): Indicted by Federal Police

Meta's Kaliana Kalache was documented speaking with Gayer in Chamber corridors on PL 2628 voting day. He led the #PL2628DaMordaça campaign.

Federal Police indictment (December 11, 2025):

  • Criminal association (associação criminosa)
  • Ideological falsity (falsidade ideológica)
  • Falsification of private documents
  • Peculato-desvio (embezzlement/diversion of public funds)

Investigation found his office space (rented with parliamentary quota) was simultaneously used by his English school (Gayer Language Institute) and a store called "Desfazueli." The group forged documents to create an OSCIP. listing children and a baby as board members. to channel parliamentary funds. R$70,000 in cash seized at an aide's home.

Sources:

Sóstenes Cavalcante (PL-RJ): Operation Galho Fraco

Identified by three Agência Pública internal sources as maintaining "close contact" with Meta's Kaliana Kalache. The Evangelical-Meta alliance was credited as decisive in killing PL 2630 (Fake News Bill).

Operation Galho Fraco (December 19, 2025):

  • Federal Police seized R$469,700 in cash from a flat/hotel room in Brasília registered to Sóstenes
  • Investigation: embezzlement, money laundering, criminal organization
  • Diverted funds channeled to Harue Locação de Veículos Ltda (believed to be a shell company for fictitious invoices)

Patrimony discrepancy: Declared R$4,926.76 in total assets for the 2022 election (96% drop from 2018's R$135,000). Claims the R$470,000 came from an apartment sale. but the deed of sale was signed December 30, 2025, eleven days AFTER the police seized the money.

Sources:

Summary Table: Deputies Contacted by Meta on Voting Day

Deputy Criminal Exposure Cash Seized Meta Contact
Fernando Maximo (PL-RO) PF ambulance fraud inquiry, R$30M+ suspicious flows . Ghost-authored amendments
Jadyel Alencar (Republicanos-PI) Convicted stolen goods, R$48M money laundering, 93 processes . Rapporteur, received 25 tech notes
Gustavo Gayer (PL-GO) PF indicted: embezzlement, criminal association, OSCIP fraud R$70,000 Kalache corridor meeting
Sóstenes Cavalcante (PL-RJ) Operation Galho Fraco: embezzlement, money laundering R$469,700 "Close contact" with Kalache
Gilvan da Federal (PL-ES) 10 judicial processes, convicted gender violence . Kalache corridor meeting

Every deputy Meta's team was documented contacting on PL 2628 voting day is under criminal investigation or has been convicted.

Part 3: Bolsonaro's Secret Meeting at Meta's Brasília Office

On April 2, 2025, Jair Bolsonaro visited Meta's Brasília office (CNPJ 13.347.016/0003-89, opened December 2021) for a secret meeting about PL 2630 (Fake News Bill) and children's online protection legislation. Attendees signed NDAs. Bolsonaro gave Meta's senior public policy director Murillo Laranjeira a silver medal engraved with his face.

Meta attendees: Kaliana Kalache, Marconi Machado, Mario Cesar Vilhena, Lilian Estevanato, Yana Dumaresq, André Atadeu.

A participant described the data center construction discussions alongside legislative negotiations as "a very clear quid pro quo."

Sources:

Part 4: Meta Corporate Officers Dossiers

Conrado Leister: VP and Country Managing Director

Career: Strategy& (PwC) → Amazon → SAP (COO Brazil) → SAS (President LatAm) → Meta (October 2017). Electrical Engineering from USP, MBA from Duke.

CPI do Crime Organizado (February 2026): CPI rapporteur Senator Alessandro Vieira summoned Leister to testify about Meta's platforms being used for organized crime. The summons cited internal Meta documents revealing the company earned approximately US$16 billion in 2024 from scam/fraud ads (~10% of total revenue).

Meta did not send Leister. Instead sent Yana Dumaresq Sobral Alves, who could not adequately answer senators' questions. The rapporteur requested Leister be reconvoked: "We'll reiterate the call for the general director."

Headline: "A Meta lucra com o crime e manda uma diretora ao Senado que não sabe responder nada."

Sources:

Bruna Marques Futuro: Finance Statutory Director, Appointed Administrator February 2026

Career: Deloitte → Navarro Advogados → KPMG → BM&A → GE → Meta (January 2016). Law degree FMU, postgraduate GV Law. Named to ITR Global Tax 50 (2022). Americas In-House Tax Leader of the Year (2023).

The timing: Appointed Administrator of Facebook Serviços Online do Brasil on February 10, 2026. exactly 35 days before Digital ECA enforcement (March 17, 2026). This puts a finance/tax/legal compliance specialist into the corporate governance structure at precisely the moment when R$50M-per-violation fines become possible. She "actively engages regional governments to influence the proper application of OECD guidelines."

Assessment: Deliberate corporate governance preparation for the Digital ECA enforcement regime.

Dalton Vitoriano Locatelli: Professional Corporate Nominee

Not a Meta employee. Career procurador operating through HLB Brasil (Locatelli Consulting Solutions Ltda, part of HLB global network). Represents 178 companies as partner, administrator, or legal representative. including Facebook Miami Inc., BBC do Brasil, Turner/Warner Bros Discovery, Universal Studios, Akamai, NortonLifeLock, Robert Half, and others. 160 currently active. First partnership: December 1973. over 50 years of corporate activity.

The Locatelli family runs HLB Brasil: Douglas Vitoriano Locatelli (brother/relative) is CEO, Jobelino Vitoriano Locatelli (relative) is CEO of Pryor Locatelli Consulting.

Sources:

Part 5: FlagCheck: A Bitcoin Company Doing Age Verification

FlagCheck (flagcheck.com.br) has no discoverable corporate registration under that name, no named founders, no public CNPJ under "FlagCheck." Investigation reveals it is operated by:

CNPJ: 31.600.396/0001-31 Razão Social: BITCOIN P2P SERVIÇOS DIGITAIS LTDA Founded: September 25, 2018, Florianópolis, SC

A Bitcoin peer-to-peer services company pivoted to age verification under the Digital ECA. This opacity is notable for a company processing CPF numbers and biometric data.

Source: https://flagcheck.com.br/lgpd, https://cnpj.biz/31600396000131

Part 6: SaferNet Brasil President: Pegasus Target, Exiled

Thiago Tavares Nunes de Oliveira, the sole registered officer of SaferNet Brasil (CNPJ 07.837.984/0001-09, R$0 capital), was targeted by Pegasus spyware and subsequently sought exile in Germany.

Source: https://www.nic.br/noticia/na-midia/fundador-da-safernet-se-exila-na-alemanha/

Part 7: CCIA/Trump Trade Retaliation Against Brazilian Digital Regulation

The CCIA (Computer & Communications Industry Association), funded by Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Uber, Apple, Pinterest, and eBay, published a report identifying Brazilian digital regulations as trade barriers.

Minutes after Trump announced a Section 301 investigation into Brazil (July 9, 2025, threatening 50% tariffs from August 1), CCIA published a statement "applauding" the initiative. The investigation explicitly targeted Brazil's platform regulation efforts. including the Digital ECA.

The same companies fund Conselho Digital in Brazil AND CCIA in the US. When domestic lobbying fails, the trade war apparatus activates.

Sources:

Part 8: Entity Network Map: Funding Flows

Omidyar Group → Brazilian Civil Society

Funder Recipient Amount Source
Imaginable Futures (Omidyar) Instituto Alana Undisclosed imaginablefutures.com
Luminate (Omidyar) Data Privacy Brasil $500,000 luminategroup.com
Luminate (Omidyar) Agência Pública Undisclosed luminategroup.com

Omidyar Network also funds Common Sense Media (KOSA's primary US backer). Same money, parallel pipelines.

Oak Foundation → Child Safety Network

Funder Recipient Amount Source
Oak Foundation 5Rights Foundation Undisclosed oakfnd.org
Oak Foundation WeProtect Global Alliance Undisclosed WeProtect statements
Oak Foundation ECPAT International $3.25M oakfnd.org
Oak/Safe Online INTERPOL, ECPAT, UNICEF $15M (joint Disrupting Harm) oakfnd.org

End Violence / Safe Online → Brazil

Funder Recipient Amount Period Source
End Violence Safe Online SaferNet Brasil $749,115 Jul 2022 - Jul 2024 end-violence.org

Peter Thiel → Verification Infrastructure

Funder Recipient Amount Source
Founders Fund (Thiel) Persona $150M Series C + $200M Series D PR Newswire

International → Brazil Policy Pipeline

5Rights Foundation (UK, Baroness Kidron)
  ├── UK Age Appropriate Design Code (2020)
  │     └── California AADC (2022). copied verbatim
  ├── IEEE 2089.1 Standard (age verification certification)
  └── [3+ years campaigning with Instituto Alana + HRW]
        └── Brazil Digital ECA (Lei 15.211/2025)
              └── Creates mandatory market for:
                    Persona, Yoti, Jumio, AU10TIX, Serpro, FlagCheck

Board Overlaps

  • Julie Cordua: CEO of Thorn AND WeProtect Global Alliance board member
  • Douglas Griffiths: President of Oak Foundation AND WeProtect board member (funder sits on policy board of grantee)
  • Shoshana Zuboff: Director of 5Rights Foundation (UK Companies House). author of "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" sits on the board of an org whose policy framework creates the market for surveillance companies

Persona Surveillance Details (February 2026 Exposure)

Internal codenames: "Project SHADOW" and "Project LEGION"

  • 2,456 source files (53 MB) exposed on Google Cloud server connected to FedRAMP
  • 269 distinct surveillance checks per user
  • Facial recognition against watchlists and PEPs
  • "Adverse media" screening across 14 categories (terrorism, espionage)
  • Built-in SAR filing to FinCEN (US Treasury) and FINTRAC (Canada)
  • Covert OpenAI watchlist database live since November 2023
  • 3-year data retention: IP addresses, device fingerprints, government IDs, faces, selfie analytics

Sources:

Part 9: Complete CNPJ Registry

Entity CNPJ Capital Status
Facebook Serviços Online do Brasil 13.347.016/0001-17 R$3,631,639 Active
Facebook Serviços (Brasília branch) 13.347.016/0003-89 . Active (opened Dec 2021)
Facebook Instituição de Pagamento 39.321.657/0001-96 R$5,000,000 Active
Conselho Digital do Brasil 35.808.843/0001-01 R$0 Active
SaferNet Brasil 07.837.984/0001-09 R$0 Active
Instituto Alana 05.263.071/0001-09 . Active
ANDI Comunicação e Direitos 36.751.345/0001-24 . Active
IDEC 58.120.387/0001-08 . Active
Data Privacy Brasil 36.942.306/0001-04 . Active
Fundação JLES 61.213.674/0001-69 . Active
Fundação Itaú 59.573.030/0001-30 . Active
Serpro 33.683.111/0001-07 . Active
FlagCheck (Bitcoin P2P) 31.600.396/0001-31 . Active

Part 10: The Agência Pública Investigation: Global Scale

The "Big Tech's Invisible Hand" investigation (September 2025):

  • 17 media outlets, 40+ journalists, 13 countries, nine months
  • Global database: 2,977 lobbying actions (2019-2025) across 10 countries + EU
  • 1,414 company representatives and 2,506 public officials mapped
  • Brazil specifically: 1,850-1,955 lobbying meetings (roughly one every two working days)
  • 904 lobbyist entries at the Chamber of Deputies (2021-2025)
  • At least 11 Big Tech lobbyists had prior experience in oil, mining, tobacco, and banking lobbying

February 2026: Agência Pública announced Microbolsas Lobby das Big Techs. three R$8,000 grants to investigate Big Tech lobbying at state/municipal level. The federal government spent at least R$23 billion on software licenses, cloud services, and security from Microsoft, Oracle, Google, and Red Hat.

Source: https://apublica.org/2026/02/microbolsas-vamos-investigar-o-lobby-das-big-techs-pelo-brasil/

Part 11: Brazil Has No Lobbying Law

PL 1202/2007 (lobbying regulation) was approved by the Chamber in November 2022 but remains pending in the Senate. Brazil currently has:

  • No mandatory lobbying disclosure
  • No lobbyist registration requirement
  • No mandatory disclosure of meetings or expenditures
  • Only public visitor logs at Congress (which Agência Pública accessed via FOIA)

The R$19.16M Meta received from the federal government, Conselho Digital's financial arrangements, and Meta lobbyists' engagement with lawmakers all operate without transparency requirements.

Source: https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=54053c5d-05c4-4d26-89d8-36bef071921c