愛污传媒

Skip to main content

Brazil Supreme Court panel unanimously upholds judge's decision to block X nationwide

FILE - Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington on March 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) FILE - Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington on March 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Share
RIO DE JANEIRO -

A Brazilian Supreme Court panel on Monday unanimously upheld the decision of one of its justices to block billionaire Elon Musk's social media platform X nationwide, according to the court's website.

The broader support among justices undermines the effort by Musk and his supporters to cast Justice Alexandre de Moraes as a renegade and authoritarian censor of political speech.

The panel that voted in a virtual session was comprised of five of the full bench's 11 justices, including de Moraes, who last Friday ordered the platform blocked for having failed to name a local legal representative as required by law. It will stay suspended until it complies with his orders and pays outstanding fines that as of last week exceeded US$3 million, according to his decision.

The platform has clashed with de Moraes over its reluctance to block users, and has alleged that de Moraes wants an in-country legal representative so that Brazilian authorities can exert leverage over the company by having someone to arrest.

De Moraes also set a daily fine of 50,000 reais (US$8,900) for people or companies using virtual private networks, or VPNs, to access X. Some legal experts questioned the grounds for that decision and how it would be enforced, including Brazil's bar association, which said it would request the Supreme Court to review that provision.

But the majority of the panel upheld the VPN fine -- with one justice opposing unless users are shown to be using X to commit crimes.

Brazil is one of the biggest markets for X, with tens of millions of users. Its block marked a dramatic escalation in a monthslong feud between Musk and de Moraes over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation.

"He violated the constitution of Brazil repeatedly and egregiously, after swearing an oath to protect it," Musk wrote of de Moraes in the hours before the vote. He also announced Sunday the creation of an X account to publish the justice's decisions that he said would provide evidence of his claims.

De Moraes' decision to quickly remit his order for panel approval served to obtain "collective, more institutional support that attempts to depersonalize the decision," Conrado Hubner, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Sao Paulo, told The Associated Press.

It is standard for the rapporteur to remit a decision to a five-justice panel in such cases, Hubner said. In exceptional cases considered controversial, the justice has the discretion to send it to the full bench for evaluation.

Had de Moraes done the latter, two justices who have questioned his decisions in the past -- and were appointed by former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro -- would have had the opportunity to object or hinder the vote's advance.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

BREAKING

BREAKING

Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.

Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'

A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.

A northeastern Ontario jury has started deliberating in Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard's sexual assault trial, we can now tell you what they weren't allowed to hear.

At least two people are dead and others are injured after a fire ripped through a century-old building in Old Montreal early Friday morning, sources told Noovo Info.

Local Spotlight

Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.

From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.

A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.

The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.

A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.

Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north

What does New Westminster's t蓹m蓹sew虛tx史 Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.

The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.

New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.