Elon Musk challenges the president of the Supreme Court of Brazil in a crusade for freedom of expression

Brazil is experiencing a moment of extreme political tension, which recently exploded on social media, featuring the one and only Elon Musk. According to journalist Michael Shellenberger, the Brazilian government and justice system were used to silence dissident voices, impose unconstitutional restrictions on X users and illegally spy on them.

All eyes are on Lula da Silva, president of Brazil and Alexandre de Moraes, president of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court, who are accused by Shellenberger of allegedly committing "outrageous violation of Brazil’s constitution and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights."

The Brazilian 'Twitter Files'

According to the journalist's revelations, in what was dubbed the "Brazilian Twitter Files," the courts and other government agencies coerced X employees between 2020 and the 2022 presidential elections.

Specifically, the thread showed how the courts and the state imposed unconstitutional restrictions against Brazilian users, specifically against those who favored former President Bolsonaro, as well as those who used similar rhetoric, illegally spying on them through orders issued by judges related to the cause.

According to the aforementioned journalist, Moraes violated the Brazilian Constitution by requiring the company, which at that time was called Twitter, to reveal private information of certain users who used hashtags considered "inappropriate" by the judge. In turn, Moraes "censored, on his own initiative and without any respect for due process, posts on Twitter by parliamentarians from the Brazilian Congress."

"At this moment, Brazil is not yet a dictatorship. It still has elections and the Brazilian people have other means at their disposal to confront authoritarianism. But the Federal Supreme Court and the Superior Electoral Court are directly interfere in those elections through censorship. ... And Moraes tried to turn Twitter's content moderation policies into a weapon against supporters of then-president Jair Bolsonaro," Shellenberger wrote on X in a post that quickly surpassed 15 million views.

Faced with Twitter's refusal to give in to the demands of the president of the Supreme Federal Court, Lula's administration attempted to sue the social network's main lawyer.

The "Brazilian Twitter Files" also affected other large companies, such as Google, Facebook, Uber, WhatsApp and Instagram, whose managers also gave in to Moraes' demands.

"If such evidence is proven, the executives of these companies behaved like cowards: they provided the Brazilian government with personal registration data and telephone numbers without a court order and, therefore, violating the law," Shellenberger added.

As reported by local outlet Revista Oeste, Moraes' actions violate at least four articles of the Abuse of Authority Law (Law 13,869/2019).

Elon Musk: '[Moraes] should resign or be impeached'

The case also called the attention the owner of X, who stood up to the Brazilian authorities. "At 5:52 pm ET today, April 6, 2024, Corporation X, formerly known as Twitter, announced that a Brazilian court had forced it to 'block certain popular accounts in Brazil,'" Shellenberger said.

Just hours later, Musk himself spoke about the case. "Coming shortly, X will publish everything demanded by [Alexandre Moraes] and how those requests violate Brazilian law. This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached. Shame Alexandre, shame," wrote Musk. Therefore, it is expected that the clash between X and Brazilian authorities is far from over.