Brazil’s president has said his country must set an example for the world “in the fight against Elon Musk’s far-right ideology” after the Supreme Court banned social platform X for spreading hate and disinformation.
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Brazil blocked X after Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes banned the social network from operating in the country. The judge accused the platform of failing to block accounts it said contained hate speech and misinformation and failing to comply with other legal requirements, The Wall Street Journal reported.
X’s ban has drawn criticism from free speech advocates as well as some investors concerned about judicial overreach and its potential impact on business. US billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman joined the criticism, warning that shutting down the platform could “put Brazil on a fast track to becoming an uninvestable market.”
Of particular concern to investors was the seizure of the accounts of Starlink, Musk’s satellite Internet company, as a guarantee of payment of fines by Platform X. The chairman of the lower house of the Brazilian parliament, Arthur Lira, stressed that the court should not have taken action against Starlink just because that both companies belong to the same owner, as this creates legal uncertainty. “The X litigation should not have been transferred to Starlink,” he said at a meeting with foreign investors.
Adding to the tension, Starlink refused to comply with orders from Brazilian communications regulator Anatel to block access to X for hundreds of thousands of users in the country. The company said it would comply with the court order only after unfreezing its accounts. Eric Farnsworth, a former US diplomat and analyst at the Council of the Americas, said the conflict would damage Brazil’s image by reinforcing “a negative narrative of uncertainty and growing government skepticism of the private sector.”
The X ban was the culmination of a long standoff between Musk and Brazilian authorities that began in April, when de Morais demanded that the platform remove several accounts that he said were spreading misinformation. Musk initially ignored the demand and closed X’s offices in Brazil. Further, after he did not respond to the court’s ultimatum to appoint a legal representative in the country, a real ban followed. According to lawyers, both sides are to blame for the escalation of the conflict: the court exceeded its powers, and Musk ignored basic laws. However, law professor Carl Tobias of the University of Richmond believes the Supreme Court’s action was justified because “everyone must follow the law, including Musk.”
Recall that the investigation into Musk was launched as part of a broader investigation three years ago into the so-called digital militias – criminal organizations that allegedly used social networks to organize anti-democratic actions, including after an attempt in Brazil to storm Congress. presidential palace and the Supreme Court in January 2023.