Tech Roundup: In Brazil, 😡😤👿🤬 can be used as evidence by criminal courts

You’re reading The Brazilian Report‘s weekly tech roundup, a digest of the most important news on technology and innovation in Brazil. This week’s topics: Are emojis criminal evidence? Brazilian agribusiness pumped by technology. New telecom regulations. Innovation from scraps. 

In Brazil, emojis can be used as evidence

We’ve all done it. Whether out of laziness, hurry, or just fun, we’ve all used emojis instead of words.

For some, it is a healthy addition to our text. “The way we use emoji in our digital messages is similar to the way we use gestures when we talk,” wrote La Trobe University researcher Lauren Gawne, on The Conversation. Detractors, however, have pointed out that people’s language skills are deteriorating now that smartphone users (especially younger ones) are opting for emojis instead of actually articulating their thoughts.

In 2019 Brazil, in which the federal government is essentially run via Twitter, emojis have become a political matter. They were at the center of the crisis which rattled Jair Bolsonaro’s Social Liberal Party. Amid a struggle for the control of BRL 100 million in electoral funds, the president’s clan clashed with the government’s whip in Congress, Joice Hasselmann.

Rio de Janeiro councilor Carlos Bolsonaro published a tweet with an indirect attack on Ms. Hasselmann, consisting of just five emojis (🐷🐭🐍🐔🐙). The chicken is a Brazilian slur equivalent to “whore” or “slut,” while the squid (lula, in Portuguese) is a reference...