Florida's Republican Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott are criticizing Brazilian authorities over the ban of X in the country, enacted last week by a Supreme Court Justice after the social media platform failed to appoint a legal representative there.
Senator Rubio issued a press release calling the decision an "authoritarian move" and saying it "raises concerns of freedom of speech and judicial overreach in Brazil."
"The recent decision to ban X is the latest maneuver by Justice Alexandre de Moraes to undermine basic freedoms. From fining individuals and private entities who seek information on X, to imposing legal censorship, the people of Brazil are facing serious crackdowns for simply engaging on a social media platform. For the sake of basic freedoms and our bilateral relationship, Brazil should rectify this authoritarian move," Rubio said.
Scott, on his end, tied the development with the NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Green Bay Packers being played in the country on Friday. "Brazil is banning X in a complete assault on free speech and the NFL is planning to play a game there anyway. Roger Goodell and the NFL should not reward this radical leftist censorship. Bring the game back home to America and have Elon Musk live stream it on X!" he said in a social media post.
Georgia lost the MLB All Star Game over democratically passing voter ID laws. Meanwhile, Brazil is banning @X in a complete assault on free speech and the NFL is planning to play a game there anyway. Roger Goodell and the @NFL should not reward this radical leftist censorship.… https://t.co/3sIjc7zGkK
— Rick Scott (@ScottforFlorida) August 30, 2024
X is effectively banned in the country after additional Supreme Court judges backed the initial decision made by Alexandre De Moraes. Justices Flavio Dino and Cristiano Zanin sided with Moraes, who ordered the suspension on August 30.
"It is not possible for a company to operate in the territory of a country and intend to impose its vision on which rules should be valid or applied," said Justice Dino when communicating his decision to side with Moraes. "A party that intentionally fails to comply with court decisions appears to consider itself above the rule of law. And so it can turn into an outlaw," he added, according to Reuters.
De Moraes had compelled Musk to appoint a legal representative following his decision to cease the company's operations in the country amid an ongoing feud over what constitutes acceptable freedom of speech in the platform. De Moraes has said the platform will continue to be blocked until the company complies with the request. Musk, on his end, has been using the platform to repeatedly blast De Moraes, accusing him of being a dictator and abusing his powers.
The conflict has been going on for years and began when the Brazilian Supreme Court took action against several accounts tied to the country's right-wing movement, particularly those linked to former president Jair Bolsonaro.
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