“Immediate, complete and integral” : three words, as scathing as they are implacable, made the largest country in Latin America shudder on Friday, August 30. Alexandre de Moraes, judge at the Federal Supreme Court (TSF), ordered the suspension in Brazil of the social network X, owned by Elon Musk. A new chapter in the duel that today pits the billionaire against the highest Brazilian court, but certainly not its epilogue.
The magistrate gave the National Telecommunications Agency twenty-four hours to bring the measure into force. Internet providers were also ordered to:“introduce technological barriers” in order to prevent X from working “on the national territory”both on smartphones and computers. Recalcitrant Internet users who try to use a VPN to circumvent the ban face a fine of 50,000 reais (8,000 euros).
As brutal as it may be, the decision is anything but a surprise and has been brewing for months, if not years. Alexandre de Moraes, a bête noire of the far right, is in charge of the main investigations targeting former President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023), his close associates and supporters. Several of them concern the dissemination of false information or the existence of “digital militias” that allegedly use various social networks to propagate their messages in Brazil.
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The situation hardened after January 8, 2023 and the ransacking of Brasilia’s institutions by thousands of Bolsonarista demonstrators. The judge intensified his action and ordered the blocking by online platforms of the accounts of personalities accused of threatening democracy or of having attempted a coup d’état… to the great displeasure of Elon Musk, the embodiment of libertarians, who accuses Alexandre de Moraes of « censure » and refuses to comply.
In April, the magistrate raised his voice and added the billionaire’s name to the long list of suspects in his investigation into “digital militias.” He now risks prosecution in Brazil for “obstruction of justice, criminal organization and incitement to crime.” But the powerful boss of Tesla and SpaceX doesn’t care.
Read also | Elon Musk Announces Closure of X Offices in Brazil, Attacks Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes
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On August 15, the judge increased the daily fine imposed on the platform to 200,000 reais (32,000 euros) for its refusal to suspend profiles – a fine that the social network did not pay. Two days later, Elon Musk responded and announced the closure of X’s offices in Brazil, alleging, without presenting concrete evidence, that Alexandre de Moraes had threatened to send some of his employees to prison.
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