STF and Congress react to Musk’s criticism of Moraes

The heads of the judiciary and legislature reacted this Monday 8th to the criticisms made by billionaire Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter), on the work of the Federal Supreme Court (STF). The president of the STF, Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, said yesterday that “non-conformism against democracy manifests itself in the criminal exploitation of social networks”.

The president of the Senate and Congress, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), said that regulation of networks is “inevitable”. The Federal Police will investigate whether Musk committed any crime by threatening to ignore the Supreme Court’s decision.

Musk’s attack took place against the decisions made by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who is also president of the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). Moraes, in response, included the entrepreneur in the investigation into digital militias, the day before yesterday, after the billionaire had threatened to ignore the decisions that determined the removal of content from X.

The PF, at Moraes’ request, will analyze whether the entrepreneur’s statements can be framed, for example, as an apology for a crime. The PF also follows the developments of the case.

Musk has promised to publish court decisions resulting in the blocking of profiles on X, arguing that they promote censorship, but there are orders in secret. Any disclosure could be interpreted by investigators as an improper leak.

The serial reaction occurred after a post by Musk in which he said he was unhappy with the removal of content and the blocking of profiles investigated for attacks on electronic voting machines. Musk even declared that he would remove the restrictions ordered by Moraes. And he said the minister violates Brazilian legislation and makes “draconian” demands.

VPN

In one publication, he also taught his followers how to access the X platform through the Virtual Private Network (VPN) program, which, basically, means guiding them on how to stay on

In addition to the institutional repercussions, the episode fueled a scenario of political polarization in the country: former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) stated that the issue “is happening outside Brazil”. “It seems that our salvation, democracy, is threatened,” he said in a Live broadcast.

Barroso, who presides over the Judiciary, reiterated that the Supreme Court will continue to act to protect the institutions and underlined that “all companies” operating in the country are subject to the Federal Constitution, laws and decisions of the Brazilian Court. “Judicial decisions can be subject to appeal, but never in cases of deliberate non-compliance. This is a global rule of law and one that we will prevail in Brazil,” he stressed.

Minister Edson Fachin also spoke. “No CEO can say that he will not comply with a court decision.”

First-ranking members of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s government defended their control of social networks in several demonstrations. The Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, classified the episode as an “inadmissible attack”.

The Union’s Attorney General, Jorge Messias, defended the regulation of networks: “We cannot live in a society where billionaires domiciled abroad have control of social networks and put themselves in a position to violate the rule of law” , he wrote about Messias himself. network controlled by Musk.

The rapporteur of bill 2630, on fake news, MP Orlando Silva (PCdoB-SP), declared that he will ask the President of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), to put the proposal back on the agenda.

Legal framework

Pacheco asked to vote on the project already approved in the Senate and being developed in the Chamber, which aims to establish a legal framework on the matter in Brazil. The proposal was voted on in the Senate in 2020 and awaits examination by federal deputies.

“It’s not censorship, it’s not limiting freedom of expression. They are rules for the use of these digital platforms so that people do not spread hatred, violence, attacks on institutions,” he said in an interview yesterday. “The participation of the Judiciary which must decide on these issues without there being a law that regulates it ends up generating controversies like those we have seen, in which the Judiciary must intervene”, she reinforced.

This Sunday, the 7th, Moraes had also ordered the opening of a separate investigation against the entrepreneur for alleged obstruction of justice, “including criminal organization and incitement to crime”.

Moraes’ assessment is that the billionaire “initiated a disinformation campaign on the actions” of the Supreme Court and the TSE, “instigating disobedience and obstruction of justice, including in relation to criminal organizations, to orders issued by the Brazilian Court relating to the blocking of criminal profiles and those who spread fraudulent news, investigated by this Supreme Court”.

“External Support”

Bolsonaro, in his Sunday evening broadcast, said Musk’s speech made clear “support outside Brazil.” He also declared that “freedom of expression is under threat”.

He was next to two of his sons: MP Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) and Councilor Carlos Bolsonaro (PL-RJ).

“Is support independent of political affiliation?”, asks the entrepreneur

Musk said Monday on X that his social network supports the Brazilian people “regardless of political affiliation” and questioned whether Alexandre de Moraes does the same.

Even if Musk backs down and complies with Brazilian court orders, Bolsonaro supporters who have had their social media accounts restricted have used means to circumvent the blocking of their accounts, not just on X. Blogger Allan dos Santos created the 40th profile on Instagram on Friday, after the 39th account, opened four days earlier, was closed by the platform.

He also tried to circumvent Moraes’ decision by creating an account on the adult content social network OnlyFans in March. The profile has been suspended. On Sunday he managed to do a live broadcast, also with the channel’s account Free Tuesday no X – suspended in Brazil. The blogger lives in the USA and is on the run from Brazilian justice.

A group of right-wing lawmakers and leaders released a manifesto in support of Musk. Online the manifesto is titled “No censorship: Brazil needs to have a voice”.

The information is from the newspaper The State of S. Paolo.

Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.