A Brazilian judge mandated that internet service providers restrict access to X for citizens on Friday, following Elon Musk’s noncompliance with his directive to suspend specific accounts within the nation, as reported by the New York Times. Alexandre de Moraes, a justice on Brazil’s Supreme Court, issued the order to block access after Twitter declined to suspend the accounts belonging to his political adversaries, according to a tweet from X’s Global Affairs.
“These enemies include a duly elected Senator and a 16-year-old girl, among others,” the platform wrote.
Soon, we expect Judge Alexandre de Moraes will order X to be shut down in Brazil – simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents. These enemies include a duly elected Senator and a 16-year-old girl, among others.
When we attempted…
— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) August 29, 2024
The closure comes after Musk had previously shut down the company’s offices in Brazil on August 17, following initial threats from Moraes. According to the company’s tweet, Moraes reportedly froze the bank accounts of the Brazilian legal representative after her resignation from X in response to his demands. The New York Times indicated that Moraes ordered the closure due to X’s absence of a legal representative within the country.
“Our challenges against his manifestly illegal actions were either dismissed or ignored. Judge de Moraes’ colleagues on the Supreme Court are either unwilling or unable to stand up to him,” the company wrote.
Moraes has also suspended the financial operations of another Musk-owned enterprise in Brazil, SpaceX’s Starlink, as reported by the Times. This prohibition represents the most recent development in a concerning trend related to free speech and censorship. In early August, a senior official from the European Union’s (EU) European Commission issued a letter to Musk, cautioning him about the necessity to adhere to the EU’s Digital Services Act.
“We are monitoring the potential risks in the EU associated with the dissemination of content that may incite violence, hate and racism in conjunction with major political — or societal — events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections,” Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for Internal Markets, wrote to Musk.
With great audience comes greater responsibility #DSA
As there is a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content in 🇪🇺 in connection with events with major audience around the world, I sent this letter to @elonmusk
📧⤵️ pic.twitter.com/P1IgxdPLzn
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) August 12, 2024
