The relationship between alcohol consumption and cognition is still controversial. This is a cross-sectional population-based study conducted in Caeté (MG), Brazil, where 602 individuals aged 75+ years, 63.6% female, and with a mean education of 2.68 years, were submitted to thorough clinical assessments and categorized according to the number of alcoholic beverages consumed weekly. The prevalence rates of previous and current alcohol consumption were 34.6% and 12.3%, respectively. No association emerged between cognitive diagnoses and current/previous alcohol consumption categories. Considering current alcohol intake as a dichotomous variable, the absence of alcohol consumption was associated with dementia (OR = 2.34; 95%CI: 1.39–3.90) and worse functionality (p = 0.001). Previous consumption of cachaça (sugar cane liquor) increased the risk of dementia by 2.52 (95%CI: 1.25–5.04). The association between the consumption of cachaça and dementia diagnosis has not been described before.

Disinformation, hate speech and political polarization are evident problems of the growing relevance of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in current societies. To address these issues, decision-makers and regulators worldwide discuss the role of digital platforms in content moderation and in curtailing harmful content produced by third parties. However, intermediary liability rules require a balance that avoids the risks arising from the circulation at scale of harmful content and the risks of censorship if excessive burdens force content providers to adopt a risk-averse posture in content moderation. This piece examines the trend of altering intermediary liability models to include ‘duty of care’ provisions, describing three models in Europe, North America and South America. We discuss how these models are being modified to include greater monitoring and takedown burdens on internet content providers. We conclude with a word of caution regarding this balance between censorship and freedom of expression.