Brazil has blocked SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk from his social media platform X after he refused to comply with the country's demands to blacklist certain accounts. Musk claimed on his platform that the country had also frozen assets of his satellite internet company Starlink.
Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the country's telecommunications companies to block access to X across the country, adding that anyone trying to access the social media platform could be fined around $9,000 a day. Report By The New York Times.
The move reportedly comes after Musk shut down X's offices in Brazil following Moraes' threats to arrest him for ignoring requests to remove X accounts that he claimed violated Brazilian law.
“Freedom of speech is the foundation of democracy and Brazil's unelected pseudo-judges are destroying it for political purposes,” Musk said in a FridayX post.
Freedom of speech is the foundation of democracy, and Brazil's unelected fake judges are destroying it for political purposes. https://t.co/eqbowALCeu
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 30, 2024
Additionally, Moraes reportedly froze SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service in Brazil to recoup a $3 million fine he levied against SpaceX. Starlink said it plans to appeal the ruling and will make its service free in Brazil if necessary.
Authorities also froze Starlink's bank accounts, even though Starlink is a separate company with different shareholders and has not violated any laws or issued any warnings.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 1, 2024
Meanwhile, a Brazilian Supreme Court judge has also ordered Apple and Google to ban the download of X and VPN apps that people use to get around such strict measures.
Musk and Moraes have been battling for months, with the SpaceX CEO accusing Moraes of illegally censoring conservative voices, while Brazilian law enforcement officials say Musk is illegally obstructing his efforts to clean up Brazil's internet.
Moraes also called Musk an “outlaw” in the court order and accused the “X” owner of “seek[ing]to undermine voters' free choice by permitting the spread of mass disinformation, hate speech and attacks on the democratic rule of law by alienating voters from truthful and accurate information.”
Considered a “hero” to Brazilian leftist politics, Moraes has emerged as one of Brazil's most polarizing figures after the country's Supreme Court tasked him with cracking down on “threats to democracy” amid leftist concerns over the rise of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The New York Times Reported.
According to the media, Brazil's Supreme Court has reportedly given Moraes the power to “unilaterally order the deletion of accounts it deems threatening” ahead of the country's 2022 elections.
Since then, Brazilian Supreme Court judges have reportedly “exercised” their powers freely, resulting in frequent sealed orders that do not explain why a particular account in X has been deemed terminated.
So far, Moraes has reportedly ordered the banning of at least 140 accounts on Musk's social media platform, including those of some of Brazil's most popular conservative figures and government officials, as well as Brazilians who have questioned Bolsonaro's defeat in the 2022 election.
Moraes led several criminal investigations into Bolsonaro and sought to bar him from running for Brazil's next presidential election.
“Alexandre de Moraes is an evil dictator cosplaying as a judge,” Musk declared in an April X post.
Alexandre de Moraes is an evil dictator cosplaying as a judge. https://t.co/ZIV8KbDCmk
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 30, 2024
In particular, owners of free speech platforms have come under attack in recent weeks.
Over the weekend, Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in Paris after French authorities accused him of “various violations,” including a “lack of moderation” of the messaging app.
Musk said Thursday that it would “probably be wise” to limit his travels to areas where “free speech is constitutionally protected.”
Alana Mastangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her at Facebook And X is Followetc. Instagram.
