Social media doesn't need censorship, but it does need some ground rules to protect users and their personal information, which is why Brazil has gone too far with censorship. Ban X It is the largest country in Latin America and X's fourth-largest market in the world.
Brazil Joining the club of Russia, China and North KoreaFour countries have partially or fully banned X: Russia, Venezuela, Iran and Pakistan. Each has a different reason, but the goal is always the same: to silence opposing voices and stamp out dissenting ideas.
Alexandre de Moraes, President of the Brazilian Supreme Court, Ordered to block X The company's owner, Elon Musk, has ignored court orders to suspend certain accounts. Musk has refused to comply with these orders and has responded with a major free speech campaign.
De Moraes went further. The judge, considered the second most powerful man in Brazil, Google and Apple Store Removed the application from the platform. $8,900 per day For those trying to get around the blockade using a VPN.
X is not just a social network for entertainment and quirky dancing, it is the No. 1 network in Brazil. 22 million Users who used the platform to announce, denounce or obtain information about wrongdoings in the public and private sectors in the South American country.
Brazil is not alone in this controversial movement against X. China censored Twitter in June 2009The anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre marked an attempt by the Chinese Communist Party to silence the memory of its brutal crimes. The attempt failed, and the ban remains in place to this day.
In Iran, the regime censored After the 2009 protests Despite the protests against the election's fraud, users managed to circumvent censorship and publish information about protests and complaints about human rights violations, especially against women.
North Korea has also blocked Twitter, a network that only a few senior officials and authorized personnel have access to, and the reclusive kingdom uses it in a very limited way to spread its own propaganda.
Russia Russia banned the use of X to hide information about its invasion of Ukraine and the brutal war crimes committed by Russian troops there. Despite this, users continue to circumvent the censorship by using VPN services and other similar alternatives.
The government Venezuela and Pakistan This year, they censored X. In August, Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro banned the use of social networks to hide his third election fraud. The measure has been maintained indefinitely. Pakistan has implemented censorship to hide political repression and human rights violations.
Brazil became the largest democracy in the Western Hemisphere to censor X. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fully supported authoritarian judges and opposed freedom of speech. “Just because you have a lot of money doesn't mean you can ignore the law.” He served as president three times.
Lula da Silva is a defender of censorship and the censors, and he has been a staunch supporter of dictatorship. Cubasupport the invasion Ukraine And criticize Israel's military operations against Hamas In Gaza.
Brazil's X ban could have a ripple effect across Latin America, first Venezuela and then Brazil a month later, with Mexico, Colombia, Honduras, Bolivia and Nicaragua likely to be next.
The business of censorship is not the same as corporate censorship. Shutting down traditional or alternative communication platforms is common practice in authoritarian regimes. This has nothing to do with the law, but with who carries it out.
Censorship of X in China, Russia, Iran, and now Brazil speaks to the fear and incompetence of authoritarians. Even the most brutal censors have failed time and time again.
Social networks have put an end to their monopoly on information. The world's dictators are shaking with fear and anger. It is urgent that we do not remain silent. We must also use these platforms as trenches in the fight for freedom and democracy, and against misinformation and hatred. The latter is a Herculean task, and censorship is often the easiest and most dangerous way out.
Arturo McFields Yescas is an exiled journalist, former Nicaraguan ambassador to the Organization of American States, and former member of the Norwegian Peace Corps (FK).
