Christopher, CEO of video platform Rumble Pavlovsky told Congress on Tuesday that his company had made the “difficult decision” to exit the Brazilian market following repressive demands from Brazil’s left-wing court to censor “unpopular” opinions. .
Pavlovsky was among several witnesses, including censored journalists. invited He is scheduled to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday about the erosion of civil rights in Brazil under radical leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Alexandre de Moraes, the most powerful justice on Brazil’s Supreme Court. . Only one of the four people invited to testify defended the censorship, arguing that it was necessary given the following: January 8, 2023Riots break out in the capital following Lula’s return to power.
Pavlovsky said on Tuesday that “freedom of speech and freedom of expression are the cornerstones of a democratic society” and that Brazil’s challenge to these rights was “extremely worrying”.
He noted that for years he has seen governments require online platforms to ban ideas with which they disagree and suppress opinions that “do not fit the standards set by algorithms.”
“These things are happening, and I know this personally as the CEO of a platform that receives requests from governments around the world,” Pavlovsky continued.
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Rumble’s CEO told Congress that the video streaming platform received a request from the Brazilian government to remove certain creators from the platform in 2024. Pavlovsky claimed that the content criticized by the Brazilian government did not violate Rumble’s terms of service, but that he “shared opinions that were ‘unpopular’ in Brazil at the time.”
“Rumble has made the very difficult decision not to comply with the government’s request. Similar to France, we will disable access for users in Brazil while challenging the legality of the Supreme Court’s request. “I chose to do so,” Pavlovsky said.
The hearing was chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who previously hosted the hearing. hearing In March, more than a dozen Brazilian lawmakers told their stories of persecution under Mr. Lula and Mr. de Moraes.
“Since the end of 2022, Brazilians have been subjected to large-scale and serious human rights violations by the Brazilian authorities,” Smith said in his opening remarks.
he continuation:
Documented rights violations in Brazil include political abuse of legal processes to persecute political opponents, including the imprisonment of opposition figures on false charges, and freedom of speech and the press, including the persecution of journalists. Violations of freedoms, silencing of opposition media, banning of individuals from social media, thinly veiled censorship laws that claim to combat “disinformation” and numerous attacks on the rule of law and judicial malpractice. violation.
Mr. Smith said that Brazil has gone so far as to persecute Brazilian conservatives in the United States, and that it has used “interpol red notices, social intimidation, and threats of legal action and extradition to suppress cross-border oppression.” According to one of the trusted victims, they are asking for the use of the FBI.” As a conveyor or conduit for threats. ”
In his testimony, American journalist Michael Shellenberger said Brazil is “no longer a liberal democracy” but “an illiberal democracy where people are afraid to speak their minds for fear of punishment.” said.
In early April, Shellenberger published a social media series called Twitter Files Brasil. Post In it, he listed de Moraes’ actions and demands to censor Brazilian politicians and supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro on Twitter.shellenberger condemned In late April, as a result of this publication, he announced that he had been charged by the Brazilian Attorney General’s Office with “probably” having committed a crime.
“And just for disclosing this fact, I am subject to a criminal investigation by the Brazilian Federal Police and the Attorney General,” Shellenberger told Congress.
Michael Shellenberger (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, Getty Images)
“If Brazil were a small and unrelated country, we might not have had so much to worry about, but that is not the case.Brazil “It is the largest country in Latin America,” he continued. “The impact is therefore global and there is a risk that it will become an example for other countries.”
Shellenberger said Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) and Superior Electoral Court (TSE) courts under the influence of De Moraes “demanded the deplatforming of independent journalists and politicians on all major social media platforms. He argued that there was evidence to suggest that “by doing so, he was directly interfering in the election.”
“Mr. de Moraes is not simply calling for social media platforms to censor certain content by controversial journalists or politicians. “We’re asking for it,” Shellenberger said. “He often does so through secret hearings without any right of appeal.”
Paulo Figueiredo, a Brazilian journalist currently in exile in Florida, tells in his testimony how he was censored and deplatformed by the Brazilian government and de Moraes under his “anti-fake news” campaign. Ta.
Freedom of expression should be defended across political divides.I’m not here to support It aims to defend the universal value of freedom of expression, not for conservatives but for both. Supporters and critics of Lula da Silva, Bolsonaro, Moraes and other public officials and institutionsservice.
On December 30, 2022, while on vacation with his family in Wisconsin, Mr. Figueiredo received a call from an acquaintance who blocked Mr. de Moraes’ social media accounts, fearing that he would be subject to heavy fines in the event of an emergency. He recalled receiving a warning. Compliance violations on social media sites.
Later, through sources in the Brazilian Federal Police, Mr. Figueiredo learned that Mr. de Moraes had issued an order freezing all financial assets, imposing heavy fines, and canceling his Brazilian passport.
“There is no justification for this type of action on any ideological spectrum. So-called journalists of the free world,” Figueiredo said. “This is common in Russia, China and Cuba, but unprecedented in Brazil.”
Fabio de Sá e Silva, a professor of Brazilian studies at the University of Oklahoma, offered the only favorable testimony for the government, saying the events of January 8 in Brazil left thousands of people dead. claimed that there was. A storm has come The premises of the National Assembly, the Supreme Federal Court and the Presidential Palace of Planalto are the result of a “long process in which politicians, media influencers and others relied heavily on social media platforms to discredit Brazil’s electoral system”. Lula’s inauguration ceremony.
Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro sit in front of a line of military police inside the Planalto presidential palace after storming the presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on January 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Perez, File)
Mr. Sá e Silva refuted the idea that “Brazilian democracy and the rule of law are collapsing and that Brazil is moving towards a censorship regime controlled by Mr. de Moraes.”
“This balance between freedom of speech and other rights and public interests could potentially result in: “We may also delete social media posts or suspend accounts if they violate legal norms,” Sá e Silva said.
The Brazilian studies professor also appeared to suggest that Congress’ interest in possible violations of freedom of expression in Brazil could threaten U.S. diplomatic interests.
“Those pushing for the online hearing have made it clear that they hope this will be a step toward more aggressive action by the United States against Brazil,” Sá e Silva said. .
“The decision to take these steps belongs to Congress and is the sovereign right of the United States,” he continued. “However, in my humble opinion, taking these steps will not strengthen the productive relationship between our two countries and will be detrimental to U.S. leadership and the nation’s interests.”
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
