SAO PAULO, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Brazil's government will

give Meta until Monday to explain the changes to its

fact-checking program, Solicitor General Jorge Messias said on

Friday.

The move comes after the social media company scrapped its

U.S. fact-checking program and reduced curbs on discussions

around topics such as immigration and gender identity.

It is not immediately clear exactly what will happen after

the deadline expires.

"I'd like to express the Brazilian government's enormous

concern about the policy adopted by the Meta company, which is

like an airport windsock, changing its position all the time

according to the winds," Messias, the government's top lawyer,

told reporters in Brasilia.

"Brazilian society will not be at the mercy of this kind of

policy," Messias added.

On Thursday, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

said the changes were "extremely serious" and announced he had

called a meeting to discuss the topic.

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In announcing the move on Tuesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg cited

"too many mistakes and too much censorship". A spokesperson said

on Tuesday that, for now, Meta was planning the changes only for

the U.S. market.

Reuters, which was a Meta partner on its U.S. fact-checking

program, has declined to comment.