Brazil Supreme Court to Decide on X Ban

Brazil’s Supreme Court will vote on Monday on whether to uphold a ruling to shut down Elon Musk’s social media platform X in the country.

The blockade marks an escalation in a months-long dispute between Musk and de Moraes over free speech and posts that the judge described as misinformation.

In his shutdown order, de Moraes said X will stay suspended until the company complies with his order, setting a daily fine of around $8,900 for individuals or firms who attempt to access the site via a virtual private network (VPN), or another means.

De Moraes has called a virtual session of the court’s first chamber—of which he is a member—so peers can review his decision.

The Supreme Federal Court (STF) is the highest organ of the Brazilian Judiciary and decisions made by a single judge can be reviewed and either maintained or overturned by the full court, consisting of all 11 justices.

Lula

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has backed de Moraes’s decision to shutdown the social media platform, as has Chief Justice Luis Roberto Barroso.

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Brazil is one of the biggest markets for X, with tens of millions of users, according to research firm Oosga.

Maurício Santoro, a political science professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, wrote on X before it was taken down in his country that the move is dystopian.

“I used VPNs a lot in authoritarian countries like China to continue accessing news sites and social media. It never occurred to me that this type of tool would be banned in Brazil. It’s dystopian,” he wrote.

President Jair Bolsonaro

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