Brazil’s Supreme Court will vote today, September 2, whether the ban on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) will be upheld or not. The verdict will be given by a five-member panel. This is as per a Reuters report.
Backing the decision of Moraes, Chief Justice Luis Roberto Barroso reportedly said, “A company that refuses to name a legal representative in Brazil cannot operate in Brazilian territory.”
Why Did This Happen?
The decision to suspend X was made on August 31 by Brazil's Justice Alexandre de Moraes following a prolonged legal battle with X's owner, Elon Musk.
The suspension occurred after X missed a court-imposed deadline to appoint a legal representative in accordance with Brazilian law. The conflict between X and Moraes began when Moraes ordered the platform to block accounts linked to investigations into alleged hate speech and misinformation.
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In response to the suspension, Musk criticized Moraes, calling him a dictator. On X, Musk wrote, "This platform does not seek to impose U.S. laws on other countries—we obey the laws of that country in that country." He further claimed that they were being pressured to violate Brazilian laws and warned of potential sanctions if they disclosed this pressure. Musk also described the decision to close X's office in Brazil as unjustified censorship.
If the decision to ban X in Brazil is approved, around 40 million people will not be able to access their X account anymore in the country. Post the temporary ban of the account, Brazilians are searching for an alternative app.
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As a result, social media platform BlueSky has already seen around 1 million downloads in the last three days. Bluesky is a social media platform that was founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. While initially launched as a Twitter-backed project, it soon became an alternative social media platform. Following the surge in downloads, Bluesky's CEO Jay Garber reportedly said, “Good job Brazil, you made the right choice.”
