Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office (PGR) has urged the Supreme Court to dismiss legal actions challenging the ban on the social media platform X, stating that it does not violate free speech rights.
Attorney General’s Position
The PGR argues that suspending Elon Musk’s social media platform does not violate free speech rights and stressed that the lawsuits against the ban lack legal grounds. The decision comes after Brazil’s Justice Alexandre de Moraes blocked the platform on Aug. 30 after it refused to name a local legal representative, as required by Brazilian law. Previously, X refused to comply with orders from the Brazilian Supreme Court to remove content deemed harmful, such as misinformation and extremist rhetoric.
Review of Appeals
The PGR was required to review the case after appeals from the Brazilian Bar Association and the political party Partido Novo challenged the decision to ban the platform. The appeals challenged the X suspension and a $9,000 daily fine for users accessing the platform through VPNs. According to the PGR, the legal mechanism used in the appeals cannot be invoked to challenge Supreme Court rulings. Supreme Court Justice Marques Nunes, who is reviewing the appeals, is expected to refer the case to the court’s plenary only after the country’s municipal elections in October. The court previously upheld Moraes’s decision to ban the platform on Sept. 2.
Debates in Congress
The controversy between Musk and the Supreme Court has sparked intense debates among lawmakers. Some representatives defended Musk’s claims of censorship on social media, citing concerns about free speech in the country. Conservative congressman Nikolas Ferreira criticized the lack of transparency surrounding social media accounts’ blocking and called it a selective approach by the courts.
Debates in Congress
Quote: > “Has any left-wing legislator had their accounts blocked? My accounts were blocked right after last year’s elections, and I don’t know why. I don’t have access to the case records,” said Nikolas Ferreira.
Debates in Congress
Meanwhile, other lawmakers condemned Musk’s actions as a threat to Brazil’s sovereignty and advocated for regulating social platforms. Congressman Ivan Valente argued that Musk’s actions undermine Brazil’s national sovereignty. “What is happening in Brazil is alarming, this international interference from the far-right,” he said.
Brazil’s Attorney General’s Office asserts that the ban on the social media platform X does not violate free speech rights and urges the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeals. The case has sparked intense debates among Brazilian lawmakers and highlights the importance of regulating social networks in the country.
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