Brazil becoming an autocracy
Brazil's government under Lula da Silva has made things worse, and their latest target is the X social media platform:
Update: here's more on the subject over here.
Brazilian Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) Minister Alexandre de Moraes threatened on Wednesday to block access to X in Brazil if the social media platform does not appoint a legal representative in the country within 24 hours.Sadly, if the following news is correct, the X platform has been suspended in Brazil:
De Moraes, the equivalent of what in the United States would be a Supreme Court justice, subpoenaed X and its owner, Elon Musk, in a post made on the site itself on Wednesday night — a move that the STF itself reportedly described as “unprecedented,” as it marks the first time the Brazilian top court has subpoenaed someone on social media.
[...] Wednesday’s STF court order marks the latest development in the ongoing feud between de Moraes, a self-styled “anti-fake news” crusader, and Musk, who has claimed to refuse to comply with some of de Moraes’ censorship orders throughout 2024.
De Moraes has ordered numerous censorship actions over the past years against Brazilian citizens, journalists, comedians, and politicians supportive of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The judge maintains an active inquiry against individuals or organizations that allegedly propagate “fake news” and a separate probe intended to investigate so-called “anti-democratic digital militias” that spread “fake news” and “threaten democracy” in Brazil.
A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Friday ordered the suspension of Elon Musk’s social media giant X in Brazil after the tech billionaire refused to name a legal representative in the country, according to a copy of the decision seen by The Associated PressAdvertising isn't as important an issue as free speech issues, and the way these Brazilian government officials are going about making petty issues is chilling in the extreme. This is bad news for free speech advocates and for Brazil's innocent citizens.
The move further escalates the monthslong feud between the two men over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes had warned Musk on Wednesday night that X could be blocked in Brazil if he failed to comply with his order to name a representative, and established a 24-hour deadline. The company hasn’t had a representative in the country since earlier this month. De Moraes said the platform would remain blocked until it complies.
Brazil is an important market for X, which has struggled with the loss of advertisers since Musk purchased the former Twitter in 2022. Market research group Emarketer says some 40 million Brazilians, roughly one-fifth of the population, access X at least once per month.
X had posted on its official Global Government Affairs page late Thursday that it expected X to be shut down by de Moraes, “simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents.”
Update: here's more on the subject over here.
Labels: anti-americanism, communications, communism, Latin America, misogyny, political corruption, racism, sexual violence, United States
