31.08.2024, 06:1731.08.2024, 10:24
A judge in Brazil has ordered the blocking of tech billionaire Elon Musk’s online platform X after a months-long dispute. Judge Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Federal Court ordered the National Telecommunications Authority to implement the order within 24 hours.
He accuses Twitter’s successor service X of not doing enough to combat the spread of hate speech and fake news. Musk, for his part, refers to freedom of speech and calls the judge an “evil dictator.”
The conflict recently escalated. The judge ordered X to block the accounts of right-wing activists who spread conspiracy theories and false information. Musk described the demand as illegal, but the online platform did not comply – and did not pay the imposed fine.
Elon Musk.Bild: keystone
Blocking after expiration of ultimatum
Musk then closed the office in Brazil in mid-August, saying he feared the then representative would be arrested. Moraes gave X an ultimatum this week: either a legal representative would be appointed within 24 hours – or the platform would be blocked. Musk let the deadline pass.
Instead, he stirred up sentiment against Moraes on X, where he has 196 million followers. Among other things, Musk published a picture allegedly created by AI showing a man who looked similar to the judge behind bars. One day, that will be reality, “remember my words,” he warned Moraes.
Musk is the richest person in the world, mainly thanks to his stake in the electric car manufacturer Tesla, which he runs. The financial service Bloomberg currently estimates his fortune at 239 billion US dollars.
But no penalty for users with VPN
On Friday, the judge also initially ruled that users who circumvent the block with technical solutions such as VPN services face a fine of 50,000 Brazilian reals (around 8,000 euros) per day. A few hours later, this was withdrawn following criticism. VPN tunnels can make it look as if a user is in another country. They are a common means of circumventing online blocks.
The initial instruction to Google and Apple to remove the X app from their download stores and block its use within five days was also lifted. This was to avoid “inconvenience for other companies,” Moraes explained.
Musk refers to freedom of speech
Musk, who belongs to the American right and is a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, always presents himself as a defender of freedom of expression. He accuses the judge of censorship. “Alexandre de Moraes is an evil dictator disguised as a judge,” Musk wrote on X. At the same time, under his direction, X responded to government demands to block some accounts and content in India, for example.
X was recently used in Brazil to mobilize for anti-democratic actions. So-called digital militias from the circle of the right-wing ex-president Jair Bolsonaro spread fake news and hate speech on social networks.
Some of the accounts that Moraes asked X to block questioned the legitimacy of Bolsonaro’s electoral defeat and showed sympathy for his supporters who stormed the parliament building and the Supreme Court at the time.
Income from abroad is becoming increasingly important for X
Elon Musk is booed at Dave Chappelle performance
Video: youtube
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