Program interruption. At dawn, some X subscribers received an error message when connecting to the former Twitter site. “Something went wrong – let’s give it another shot.”
The load shedding is taking place gradually after Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes decided to ban access to the network. His decision, officially announced on Friday evening, was forwarded to the telecommunications regulatory agency Anatel, which must order the various operators (Telefónica, TIM, etc.) to implement the court’s decision. This should take about 24 hours. The 24 million subscribers will then be cut off from the world of X.
A radical measure taken following a series of confrontations between a hard-line magistrate and Elon Musk. Alexandre de Moraes based his decision on the lack of legal representation of X in Brazil since Elon Musk, accused of supporting several disinformation campaigns, decided to close his offices in the country, after receiving fines amounting to some three million euros.
Undemocratic
The magistrate, who had already blocked access to several accounts of far-right bloggers, does not mince his words. He blames “the instrumentalization of X through the action of extremist groups and digital militias on social networks, with a massive dissemination of Nazi, fascist, hateful, anti-democratic speeches.”
According to him, Elon Musk has refused to self-regulate and prevent the dissemination of anti-democratic remarks. Suspected of sympathy with the global far right, he is accused of endangering Brazilian democracy. The timing is also important, since Brazil is in the middle of a municipal election campaign.
The boss of X defends absolute freedom of expression, and for his part denounced “a pseudo-judge”, “a proven criminal of the worst kind”… “Freedom is a fundamental pillar of a healthy democracy”, also stressed the United States embassy in Brasilia.
President Lula also weighed in on the debate, mocking the South African-born billionaire. “It’s not because a guy has a lot of money that he can afford not to respect (court decisions).”
Further, too far?
But Alexandre de Moraes went even further. He ordered the suspension of the activities of Starlink, the satellite company that provides internet access in regions located far from major urban centers.
Many people in Brazil, especially in legal circles, are saying that the Supreme Court member went too far, without consulting his peers. And that the Latin American giant, which was a pioneer in adopting a regulatory framework for the internet 10 years ago, is suffering from the absence of regulation on social networks. Congress has been working on this issue for many months, without being able to approve a bill.
