Brazil bans free speech social platforms

Brazilian court eventually bans Musk's social network "X"

Freedom of speech, the ability to speak freely and share all kinds of uncomfortable information, is associated with democracy and the freedom of the modern world. However, a closer look at what is happening in the world and what is potentially still to come reveals the exact opposite. Free debate and the dissemination of information are under increasing pressure and censorship, and independent platforms that want to preserve freedom of expression are even facing outright bans or arrests.

Brazil is one of the strongest fighters against a free internet and the information it disseminates. A few days ago, Elon Musk's social network 'X' (formerly known as Twitter) was completely banned in that country^[1].

It is publicly stated that 'X' was banned because it did not meet the deadline set by a Brazilian Supreme Court judge to appoint a new legal representative in the country. Alexandre de Moraes ordered the "immediate and total suspension" of the social media platform until it complies with all court orders and pays the accumulated fines. In his ruling, the judge accused social network X of behaving "like a no-man's land - a true lawless land", allegedly allowing the "massive dissemination" of disinformation, hate speech and anti-democratic attacks.

This judge has already made a name for himself in Brazil following his decisions to restrict social platforms he does not like in the country.

Earlier this month, X had already closed its office in Brazil. The company said that its representative had been threatened with arrest if she did not comply with the court's orders, which the representative of X herself described as elementary censorship.

The dispute between Brazil and X itself began back in April, when a judge ordered the Musk-owned social network to suspend some accounts that were allegedly spreading misinformation. Interestingly, many of these accounts belonged to right-wing supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro.

The judge not only demanded that the accounts be blocked pending an investigation but also explained that all the company's legal representatives would be prosecuted if any of the accounts were reactivated without the court's authorization. The company was also threatened with a fine if it refused to comply with the court order. In addition, Musk's Starlink bank accounts were also frozen in the country following an earlier ruling by Brazil's Supreme Court to exert even more pressure.

Following the ruling, Musk did not mince his words and said that this was simply an attempt to crack down on freedom of expression:

"Freedom of speech is the foundation of democracy, and in Brazil a pseudo-judge not elected [by the people] is destroying it for political purposes."

Brazilian authorities threaten thousands of dollars in fines if people still join "X"

At least 22 million Brazilians have used the "X" social network. However, despite its large number of users, it was blocked as soon as a judge, fiercely trying to silence his opponents and curb all social networks, wanted to do so^[2].

Now, Platform X will not be available when using the internet on computers or when trying to download it to phones or other smart devices. Judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered companies like Apple and Google to remove X from their app stores in just a few days and block the social network from being used on iOS and Android systems.

The judge also added that both individuals and companies will be penalised if they try to circumvent the ruling. Those who use VPNs or other means to access the platform could face a hefty fine. Illegal use of "X" will reportedly result in a daily fine of R$50,000 (around €8 077).

According to the judge, the complete blocking of X in the country will continue until X appoints a new legal representative and pays the fines for the alleged violation of Brazilian law. However, X's official statement said that the social network would not comply with de Moraes' demands, simply an attempt by the judge to censor his political opponents illegally. Since censorship is also illegal in Brazil, the X statement said:

"The main problem is that Judge de Moraes is insisting on breaking Brazil's own laws. We just won't do it."

The media, which has been critical of Musk in the past, has sided with free speech

Interestingly, even Musk's usual critics see a clear desire to censor free speech and support his reluctance to obey the Brazilian courts. The well-known Washington Post editorial board, which is often very harsh in its criticism of Musk, has decided to support the billionaire. The editorial wrote:

"The billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is right to say that a Brazilian lawyer's move to unilaterally ban the X he owns from operating in the country is an attack on the language of the Internet worldwide. In this free speech battle, Musk's X has chosen the right position."

"The Post has also chosen to side with Musk, who has been heavily criticized in the past, writing that Judge de Moraes' action to shut down the platform has come at a "high cost to freedom of expression", and that even the arrest warrants that have been sent out are often poorly substantiated. The newspaper criticized both the desire to ban the social network itself and the thousands of euros in fines for users^[3].

"If this sounds authoritarian, it is", the paper said. "Whatever the threat to democracy that Moraes's desire to block questionnaires might pose, the threat posed by one government official restricting the speech of 220 million people is greater."

Brazil seeks to censor all free platforms, including the popular "Rumble"

Unfortunately, the social network Musk owns is not the only one suffering from the Brazilian government's desire to curb uncomfortable free speech. Last year, the Telegram platform was temporarily banned for refusing to cooperate when asked to block certain profiles.

Even the 'meta' messaging service Whatsapp was temporarily banned in 2015 and 2016 when it refused to comply with police requests for user data. As you know, the social networks run by Meta are now happy to cooperate with the authorities and are heavily censoring allegedly inappropriate content^[4].

Brazil has also taken on another hugely popular platform, Rumble. This video-sharing platform was popular with many during the COVID-19 pandemic when information about the coronavirus, vaccinations, and other facts was heavily blocked on Facebook and YouTube.

Like X, Rumble is no longer available to people in Brazil. Following the blocking of "X", Rumble Chairman and CEO Chris Pavlovsky sent a message to all Rumble subscribers to inform them of the threat to free speech:

"Dear Rumble users,

I don't normally send email notifications to our users, but red lines have been crossed. There have been some big changes to free speech platforms and I think it's important to let everyone know what's going on and how you can help Rumble.

"Rumble is no longer available to Brazilians, they have joined the ranks of France, Russia and China. According to media reports, Brazil no longer has Elon Musk's 'X' because of the attacks on freedom of speech by Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Judge Alexandre De Moreas.

The world's powerful do not want Rumble, they do not want X, they do not want Telegram and they do not want Truth Social. They want to control information, but our companies will not let them.

There are no other big companies that fight for freedom the way we do. We have everything at stake for this, and the CEO of Telegram was recently arrested for this.

Advertisers are boycotting our companies to cut our economic lifeline, but they do not appreciate our support among the people.

The people keep us alive and do not let us stop.

If you want to help us, join Rumble Premium. If Rumble Premium gets big enough, you'll help us change the game and fight for freedom of speech.

We're also offering a $10 discount to all new annual subscribers if they use the promo code "brazil".

Sincerely

Chris Pavlovski

"Chairman and CEO of Rumble"

Rumble has also issued a separate statement saying that the platform is currently down across Brazil due to local government demands to remove unfavorable developers from the platform. Rumble will only return to Brazil if the authorities stop their blatant censorship.

Telegram, Rumble and other platforms are coming under increasing pressure worldwide

It is important to note that Brazil is not the only country seeking to curb free speech and all major social platforms. Similar actions are being seen in America, Australia, and even the European Union, which has been hit by both Musk's X and the extremely widespread use of Telegram.

E. Musk has already clashed with the EU over X regulation and recently engaged in a war of words with the UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer^[5].

"Rumble is also under pressure to comply with the demands of various countries. Rumble has already been blocked not only in Brazil but also in France, Russia, and China because of its desire to remain an independent platform. This followed Rumble's categorical refusal to restrict freedom of expression by deleting Russia Today, censoring various political opponents of the current government, or any other content that does not please the government.

In addition, Rumble has already faced difficulties in Australia and New Zealand after refusing to delete data on the COVID-19 vaccine. "A Rumble executive said:

Governments behave in a way we could only have imagined 50-60 years ago, openly asking platforms to censor and remove objectionable content. They think they know what's best again, dictating and controlling conversations and taking away the human right to speak and share freely.

These are not theoretical fears. These things are happening, and I know this personally as the CEO of a platform that receives demands from governments worldwide. Countries in every hemisphere, all of them members of the United Nations, no longer defend the human right to freedom of expression. It is getting out of control <...>."

Rumble's words are well supported by the recent arrest of Telegram's owner, Pavel Durov. Although he has already been released on bail, France accuses him of allegedly authorizing various criminal activities on the messaging platform. The accusations came after Telegram refused to cooperate with the French authorities by providing them with users' personal information and access to the app^[6].

Since his release, Durov has spoken out about the desire of various countries to track people and the fact that nothing of the sort will happen on the app he runs, because it is not about money:

"Sometimes we can't agree with a country's regulator on the right balance between privacy and security. In such cases, we are ready to leave the country. We have done this many times. When Russia demanded that we hand over our 'encryption keys' to allow surveillance, we refused - and Telegram was banned in Russia. When Iran demanded that we block the channels of peaceful protesters, we refused - and Telegram was banned in Iran."

Is the world imposing more and more censorship and forgetting freedom of speech?

Let us remember that the widely used Feisbuk, YouTube, and other platforms have been heavily controlled for a long time. They quickly delete information that supposedly does not comply with the rules and spread disinformation, even though many users find that they are punished simply for trying to speak out about the COVID-19 vaccine, the LGBTQ community, certain politicians, or other topics.

In addition, we already have various fact-checkers who falsely accuse those who speak differently and report inconvenient facts of being untruthful, thereby blocking content on popular social networks, search engines, and elsewhere. Maybe one day we will even have whistleblower apps or the same thousands of dollars in fines already awaiting Brazilians who dare to defy the demand to stop using 'X'.

What would happen if all the platforms that still allow free speech were permanently blocked? While some people may try to use VPNs or create new platforms, such censorship would lead to even greater oppression of people who are able to think and seek out as much different information as possible. So it seems that the supposedly free, highly democratic world is, in fact, becoming increasingly dictatorial, where only those things that please the powerful are allowed to speak.