08/30/2024 – 16:51
The United States Embassy in Brazil defended freedom of expression in a statement published this Friday, the 30th, when referring to the impasse between the minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Alexandre de Moraes and the businessman Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter). Musk, who claims that Moraes seeks to suspend the social network’s operations in an unconstitutional manner, thanked the support.
THE State sought the Federal Supreme Court (STF), but had not received a response by the time this text was published. The space remains open.
In a statement, the US Embassy said it is monitoring the impasse between the minister and the billionaire. Without commenting on Moraes’s court decisions, the American representation said that “freedom of expression is a fundamental pillar in a healthy democracy.”
“The US Embassy is monitoring the situation between the Supreme Court and the X platform. We emphasize that freedom of expression is a fundamental pillar in a healthy democracy. As a matter of internal policy, we do not comment on court decisions or legal disputes,” the US embassy said.
On X, Musk thanked the US representation for its support. According to him, Moraes is restricting freedom of expression, preventing social network users from “expressing their thoughts or knowing the truth of the situation”.
“The expression of support from the US embassy is appreciated. Indeed, without freedom of speech, the public cannot express their thoughts or know the truth of the situation, making it impossible to vote with accurate knowledge,” the billionaire said.
Understand the impasse between Musk and Moraes
On Wednesday, the 28th, Moraes summoned Musk through X himself, forcing the businessman to indicate the platform’s legal representative in Brazil to respond to court decisions. Since the 17th, the social network has not had any lawyers in the country after the billionaire contested the actions of the STF.
The deadline given by Moraes in the subpoena was 24 hours and Musk did not comply with the order. As a result, the social network could be suspended by order of the minister at any time. This Thursday, the 29th, Moraes suspended the bank accounts of Starlink, another company owned by the billionaire, to pay off the platform’s debts with the Brazilian justice system.
This is not the first time that Musk and Moraes have publicly exchanged barbs on social media. Since April, when Moraes began investigating possible fake news spread by X, the businessman has claimed that the judge violates the principles of freedom of expression and has compared him to a dictator.
Musk is the target of investigation No. 4,957, which is investigating alleged crimes of obstruction of justice, criminal organization and incitement to crime. The billionaire was included in the investigation of digital militias after X refused to comply with Moraes’ orders regarding the suspension of profiles.
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