On August 31, the suspension of X was ordered by the Federal Supreme Court, the highest court in Brazil. Between Judge Alexandre Moraes and the American billionaire, war has now been declared, with a powerful lever in favor of the Brazilian justice system: the Starlink network.
In Brazil, since August 31, the 22 million users of the social network X have been deprived of access to their accounts. The day before, Alexandre de Moraes, the judge of the Supreme Federal Court (TSF), the highest court in the country, ordered the blocking of the platform. This decision was taken after the judge’s repeated requests to suspend seven profiles on X, accused of spreading false information encouraging a coup against President Lula on January 8, 2023. Elon Musk, the owner of X, ignored all of them.
Read alsoSocial network X banned in Brazil, VPNs and Bluesky rub their hands
Denouncing “censorship,” the billionaire decided to close X’s offices in Brazil on August 17 and relocate the team, although the law requires a legal representative for companies operating in the territory. Accusing Musk of “confusing freedom of expression with freedom of aggression,” Moraes then gave him a twenty-four-hour ultimatum on August 27 to bring X into compliance with the law.
Threads et Bluesky gagnants
The billionaire has once again defied the court’s injunction, preferring to play the provocation. Nicknamed the judge “Voldemort”, he published a video on X encouraging Brazilians to use a VPN to circumvent the ban. In retaliation, the judge imposed on August 30 the “immediate, complete and total suspension” of X, accompanied by a fine of 50,000 reais (about 8,000 euros) for any Internet user who dared to follow Musk’s advice.
He also decided to freeze Starlink’s assets in Brazil to obtain payment of the fines of 200,000 reais (about 32,000 euros) per day imposed on X since August 15 for not suspending the accounts. According to Bruna Santos, an activist with the NGO Digital Action, this latest decision “was not expected” by Musk, who then understood that Brazil “could suspend Starlink’s operating authorization.” And for the first time, he has […]
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- challenges.fr
