Brazil’s Censorship of X is a Dire Warning for America

Brazil’s recent crackdown on X, formerly known as Twitter, is a troubling signal for anyone who values free speech—especially Americans. Last week, a Brazilian Supreme Court judge ordered the platform to be banned after it failed to comply with demands to appoint a legal representative and suspend certain accounts. In response, the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) stepped in, filing a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to intervene on X’s behalf.

This case goes far beyond Brazil. What’s happening should concern every American who understands the importance of free speech in a functioning democracy. As Jeremy Tedesco, ADF's Senior Vice President of Corporate Engagement, explained, “You can’t truly be free, you can’t live in a democracy, and you can’t enjoy freedom unless you have free speech as an underlying foundation of your society.”

• Brazil’s Ban and Musk’s Stand: Elon Musk’s refusal to comply with Brazilian demands highlights his commitment to protecting free speech on X. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court judge, ordered the ban when Musk declined to censor specific accounts or appoint a legal rep for Brazil. Now, Brazilians face steep daily fines for trying to access X via VPNs.

• Censorship in America?: Tedesco warns that Brazil’s authoritarian impulse to censor is not isolated—it's something we’ve already seen echoed in the U.S. The FBI, for instance, recommended the suppression of stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop before the 2020 election. Similarly, the Biden administration pressured social media giants like Meta to silence posts about COVID, as recently confirmed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

• Government Overreach: Musk’s efforts to push back against censorship have exposed the disturbing trend of governments attempting to control the narrative by using corporations to suppress speech they don’t like. The brazenness of such censorship efforts should set off alarm bells for every American, regardless of political ideology. As Tedesco put it, "If we end up in a place where the government feels like it can get away with that kind of jawboning and pressuring of private corporations to do their censorship bidding, no one is safe."

The Brazilian court’s decision was upheld by a panel of judges earlier this week, showing just how far governments will go to silence dissent. This should serve as a warning to America: if censorship can happen there, it can happen here too. Musk’s stance in defense of free speech is vital, not just for Brazil but for all of us.

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