A conservative party in Brazil seeks overturn a judge’s ban on Elon Musk’s platform Xwhich could exacerbate the months-long dispute over censorship and hate speech in the country largest in South America.
The appeal filed by the Partido Novo against the decision of the Federal Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes to ban the popular social network will be reviewed by another judge, complicating the dispute with the billionaire’s business empire.
“It’s about freedom of expression: we want X to return to normality in Brazil”Jonathan Mariano, a federal prosecutor and Novo Party candidate for Rio de Janeiro city council, told Reuters.
Moraes ordered the blocking of X last week in its sixth largest market after the platform formerly known as Twitter, failed to comply with orders to block some accounts accused of spreading “fake news” and hate messages thataccording to the judge, constituted a threat to democracy.
Also froze the assets of Musk’s satellite broadband firm Starlink for possible use to pay fines owed by X.
Musk, who has called Moraes a “dictator,” He accused him of “closing the number one source of truth in Brazil.” X has closed its offices in Brazil due to what it called “censorship” by the judge.
He New Party This week he requested a court order to stop Moraes’ ban on X, claiming it was unconstitutionalThe party also questioned the freezing of Starlink’s assets, arguing that the two companies are separate entities.
Moraes declined to comment Wednesday on the party’s challenges. Musk, his lawyer and Starlink did not respond to repeated requests for comment this week.
Brazil moves towards tax reform: “The next six to 12 months will be key”
Legal challenge moves forward rapidly
The The request of the Novo Party will be taken by Judge Kassio Nunes Marques, who was appointed by far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro. He is expected to take the case to a larger court or dismiss it.
No date has been set for the decision, but Marques is expected to act quickly, given the repercussions of Moraes’ moves against Musk’s entitiesMarques could not immediately be reached for comment.
Musk, in addition to owning X and 40% of Starlink’s parent company SpaceX, is the CEO of electric vehicle giant Tesla.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has backed De Moraes’ decision to suspend Xstating that “Just because a guy has a lot of money doesn’t mean he can disrespect” the law. Musk mocked the president, calling him Moraes’ “lapdog.”
Moraes’ decision was upheld by one of the two panels of the Supreme Court, although some experts said a broader consensus should have been sought.
Minera Vale, through its venture capital, invests in the American startup Mantel to capture carbon directly
“Such a controversial issue should have been debated by all 11 judges, not just half of them.“said the constitutional lawyer Vera Chemimbased in Sao Paulo, who argued that The case boils down to a power struggle between Musk and Moraes.
Chemim said that The freezing of Starlink accounts violates Brazilian law and must be revoked immediately.
But former Supreme Court President Carlos Ayres Britto disagreed. “X and Starlink are tentacles of the same octopus, they form an economic group,” he said.
The Partido Novo is not the only one questioning Moraes’ decision. The Brazilian Bar Association has also request to the Supreme Federal Court to annul the order of De Moraes to fine the Brazilians with US$ 8,900 a day by using VPN (virtual private networks) for access X in the country.
The association argued that The imposition of fines violates the constitutional principles of separation of powersfull defense and due process.
