“Immediate, complete and comprehensive” : Three words, as biting as they were implacable, shook the largest country in Latin America on Friday, August 30. Alexandre de Moraes, a judge of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), ordered the suspension in Brazil of the social network X, owned by Elon Musk. A new chapter in the duel that today pits the billionaire against the highest Brazilian court, but certainly not its epilogue.
The magistrate gave the National Telecommunications Agency 24 hours to put the measure into effect. Internet providers were also ordered to“introduce technological obstacles” to prevent the operation of “in national territory”both on smartphones and computers. Recalcitrant Internet users who try to use a VPN to circumvent the ban face a fine of 50,000 reais (8,000 euros).
As brutal as it was, the decision was anything but a surprise and had been brewing for months, if not years. Alexandre de Moraes, the bête noire of the far right, is responsible for the main investigations against former President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023), his relatives and his supporters. Several of them refer to the dissemination of fake news or the existence of “digital militias” that supposedly use various social networks to spread their messages in Brazil.
Absence of legal representative
The situation worsened after January 8, 2023, and the sacking of Brasilia’s institutions by thousands of Bolsonarists. The judge intensified his action and ordered the blocking by online platforms of the accounts of personalities accused of threatening democracy or having launched a coup d’état… much to the dismay of Elon Musk, the embodiment of libertarians, who accuses Alexandre de Moraes “censorship” and refuses to comply.
Last April, the magistrate spoke out and added the billionaire’s name to the long list of suspects in his investigation into “digital militias.” The latter now risks being prosecuted in Brazil for obstruction of justice, criminal organization and incitement to crime. But the powerful boss of Tesla and SpaceX doesn’t care.
On August 15, the judge raised the daily fine imposed on the platform for its refusal to suspend profiles to 200,000 reais (32,000 euros), a fine that the social network does not want to pay. Two days later, Elon Musk responded and announced the closure of X’s offices in Brazil, alleging, without presenting concrete evidence, that Alexandre de Moraes had threatened to send some of his employees to prison.
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