The pulse between Elon Musk and The Supreme Court of Brazil reached its climax this Friday with the suspension of the social network X, after the tycoon ignored court orders in an investigation into fake news.
According to the criteria of
These are the five keys of the confrontation between the owner of Tesla and SpaceX and the highest Brazilian court:
Digital militias against democracy: what is Brazil’s Supreme Court investigating in the X network?
The case is part of an investigation that the Supreme Court has been carrying out since July 2021 into the existence of digital militias that seek to undermine democratic institutions by spreading fake news on social media.
Police suspect that it is a “criminal organization” with cores of “production, publication and financing”, which would involve the participation of political leaders, whose ultimate goal would be to “attack democracy and the rule of law.”
In this context, the Supreme Court ordered X (formerly Twitter) eliminate several profiles linked to the radical right led by the former president Jair Bolsonaroinvestigated in other cases for plotting a coup against the current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
However, Musk refused, and was included in the investigation for obstruction of justice, criminal organization and incitement to crime.
Alexandre de Moraes: The key judge in the case
He is the judge in charge of the investigation. He was a prosecutor, Minister of Justice in the Liberal Government. Michel Temer (2016-2018) and, since 2017, is one of the eleven justices of the Supreme Court of Brazil.
Freedom of expression should not be confused with impunity for aggression
De Moraes has been relentless against hate and antidemocratic speeches on the internetand insisted that “freedom of expression should not be confused with impunity for aggression.”
He is also in charge of research on the invasion of the Bolsonarists to the headquarters of the three powers, on January 8, 2023, and the coup plot to prevent Lula’s inauguration, which took place seven days earlier.
These actions have made him the main enemy of Bolsonarism and several parliamentarians allied with the former head of state have tried to remove him.
The X Challenge: How did the conflict between the social network and the Supreme Court escalate?
The conflict began when X refused to remove the profiles that were supposedly in favor of the coup. However, the situation escalated due to other disagreements.
On August 17, X closed its office in Brazil due to the risk that its employees could be imprisoned for failing to comply with court rulings.
Musk accused De Moraes of being a criminal of the worst kind and the dictator of Brazil
The next day, De Moraes seized the bank accounts of Starlink, another Musk company that offers satellite internet services, to ensure payment of the fines imposed on X.
On August 28, the judge gave Musk 24 hours to appoint a legal representative for X in Brazil, under threat of suspending the social network’s activities, which finally happened on Friday.
The Supreme Court notified Musk of this decision through X, something unprecedented in Brazil.
In response, Musk warned that he would not comply with the order and launched a series of posts on that social network accusing De Moraes of being a “criminal of the worst kind” and “the dictator of Brazil”, as well as imposing “censorship” for no apparent reason.
Legal debate: What do experts think about Moraes’ actions?
De Moraes’ actions have created division in the legal worldSome are arguing for a firm response to Musk’s challenge, while others are questioning the way the process has been handled.
Alexander Coelhopartner at Godke Advogados and specialist in Digital Law, pointed out Efe that, although it is legitimate to demand compliance with the laws, “short deadlines and threats of imprisonment” raise doubts about respect for procedural guarantees.
For its part, Acacia Mirandaa doctor in Constitutional Law from the Brazilian Institute of Education, Development and Research, recalled that the law requires social networks to have a representative in Brazil to comply with judicial decisions and rejected the argument of “prior censorship,” since the authorities must intervene when someone “indiscriminately” attacks others.
Impact on social media: consequences of X’s suspension in Brazil
With the suspension, X will lose around 20 million active users in Brazilwhich in January was ranked sixth among the countries most hooked on the social network, behind Indonesia, the United Kingdom, India, Japan and the United States, according to data from Statista.
To enforce the ruling, the Supreme Court will notify the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel, regulator), which then has one day to transmit the order to internet providers, who will block access to X in the countrysomething that for technical reasons may not be immediate.
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