Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) on Tuesday announced America's support for free speech censorship and He introduced a bill to block taxpayer funding. Abroad, it is a response to the Brazilian Supreme Court's heavy-handed efforts to censor or shut down American social media.
Mr. Alexandre de Moraes, Minister of Brazil's Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF), which is equivalent to a judge of the United States Supreme Court, launched In 2019, a nationwide campaign against alleged “fake news” and “misinformation” unfairly targeted conservative and right-wing voices. Mr. Moraes played a key role in the 2022 presidential election through his concurrent role as the then-head of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), which led to the current president, Lula da Silva, being a convicted felon on corruption charges. The government forbade any mention of its status in the media, but it did not face any criticism. The action is in response to Lula's camp's false attempt to brand his rival, former president Jair Bolsonaro, a “cannibal.”
This “fake news” campaign forced American website Rumble to cease operating in Brazil after refusing to comply with de Moraes' widespread and persistent demands to censor the individuals who produce content on the site. It was forced to close. Over the past two months, Mr. de Moraes has targeted the microblogging site Twitter (also known as “X”), blocking access from the country until owner Elon Musk complies with a lengthy list of censorship demands. Musk initially called De Moraes a “dictator” and refused to shut down the accounts and posts in question. compare to him harry potter However, in late September, Twitter suddenly announced that it would indeed comply with censorship requests to restore access to the Brazilian market.
Over the weekend, de Moraes announced that if he returns to Brazil, Twitter will have to pay a $1.84 million fine for each day it failed to comply with censorship demands. Rachel de Oliveira Villa, Twitter's official legal representative in Brazil, personally paid 300,000 Brazilian reals (approximately $55,284) after Twitter initially refused to censor the company. fined.
Reps. Smith, Jordan, and Salazar responded to widespread reports that U.S. government-funded NGOs and other organizations are supporting Mr. de Moraes' efforts to silence anti-socialist voices. drafted the bill “An Act Prohibiting the Funding and Enforcement of Censorship Overseas.'' the current repetition The text of the bill states that de Moraes “received and implemented content censorship recommendations” from NGOs funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. Department of State. To prevent future transfers of funds, the bill prohibits funding to “any foreign corporation” that has ties to censorship.
The bill states that “no assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 USC 2151 et seq.) may be provided for the benefit of a foreign corporation if the Secretary of State has credible information that the foreign corporation is involved. ” is written. Conducts, promotes, facilitates, or threatens to engage in, promote, or facilitate the censorship of lawful speech online; ”
The bill also requires federal law enforcement agencies to request foreign police forces “if the Attorney General has credible information that such request would cause, encourage, or facilitate the censorship of protected speech online.” Providing assistance or cooperation in any case is prohibited.
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in statement Congressman Smith on Tuesday accused outgoing President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of actively supporting censorship campaigns like the one in Brazil.
“The Biden-Harris administration is weaponizing U.S. foreign aid programs and other tools to promote censorship in Brazil and suppress free speech rights protected by the U.S. Constitution here at home.” said Congressman Smith.
“It is unconscionable that the United States is using taxpayer funds to promote this type of censorship that is completely contrary to our entire constitutional tradition,” he added.
“This bill is critical to stopping foreign government censors from using the Justice Department and FBI to silence adverse opinions,” said Rep. Jordan, who is a sponsor of the bill. , said: said In a statement.
Similarly, Rep. Salazar said“The United States must protect Elon Musk from attack by Brazil's Alexandre de Moraes and other socialist forces.”
The parliamentarians report Civilization Works, a research organization, said it had found evidence that DeMoraes, STF, and TSE were “substantially influenced by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) funded by the U.S. government.”
“Additionally, multiple U.S. government agencies and officials have played a role in encouraging and facilitating censorship in Brazil,” the group said. “Brazil's censorship-industrial complex (a large network of NGOs, fact-checkers, and state actors) appears to be often inspired, trained, and funded by their American counterparts. ”
“In supporting Brazilian censorship, the U.S. federal government and its subsidiaries have engaged in inappropriate foreign interference specifically targeting elections and public policy,” the study concluded.
