Brazil bans X, strengthening global social media censorship

Social media doesn’t need censorship, but it does need basic rules to protect its users and their personal data. That’s why Brazil went too far by banning X in Latin America’s largest country and its fourth-largest market globally.

Brazil has joined the club of Russia, China, North Korea, Venezuela, Iran and Pakistan, all of which have partially or completely banned X. The reasons are different in each case, but the goal is always the same: to muffle the voice of the opponent and crush dissent.

The Minister of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court, Alexandre de Moraes, ordered the blocking of X because Elon Musk, the company’s owner, ignored court rulings ordering him to block certain accounts. Musk refused to comply with these court orders and responded with a massive free speech campaign.

De Moraes went even further. The judge, considered the second most powerful man in Brazil, ordered companies such as Google and Apple Store to remove the application from their platforms. He also announced fines of $8,900 per day for those who try to circumvent the blockade using a VPN.

X is not just another social network for entertainment and bizarre dances. It is the number 1 network in Brazil, with 22 million users who use it to announce, denounce or learn about abuses in the public and private sectors of the South American country.

Brazil is not alone in this controversial campaign against X. China censored Twitter in June 2009 in connection with the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests. The Chinese Communist Party wanted to silence the memory of its bloody crimes. It has not succeeded in doing so, but the ban remains in place.

In Iran, the regime implemented censorship following protests against electoral fraud in 2009. Despite this, users were able to circumvent censorship and post information about protests and complaints about the suppression of human rights, especially of women.

North Korea has also blocked Twitter. Only a few high-ranking officials and authorized personnel have access to the network. The Hermit Kingdom uses the network in a very limited way to spread its own propaganda.

Russia has banned the use of X to hide information about the invasion of Ukraine and the brutal war crimes committed by Russian soldiers there. Despite this, users continue to circumvent censorship by using VPN services and other similar alternatives.

The regimes in Venezuela and Pakistan have censored X this year. In August, Venezuelan tyrant Nicolás Maduro banned the use of the social network to cover up his third electoral fraud, a measure that has been maintained indefinitely. Pakistan imposed censorship to cover up political repression and human rights violations.

Brazil is the largest democracy in the Western Hemisphere to censor X. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva fully supported the authoritarian judge and spoke out against free speech. “Just because someone has a lot of money doesn’t mean they can disregard the law,” the three-term president said.

Lula da Silva is a supporter of censorship and censors. He has categorically sided with the Cuban dictatorship, supported the invasion of Ukraine and criticized Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Brazil’s ban on X could trigger a domino effect in Latin America. First it was Venezuela and a month later Brazil. Countries like Mexico, Colombia, Honduras, Bolivia and Nicaragua could follow next.

The business of censorship and corporate censorship are not the same thing. Shutting down traditional or alternative communication platforms is a common practice under authoritarian regimes. This has nothing to do with the law, but with who is applying it.

The censorship of X in China, Russia, Iran, and now Brazil shows the fear and ineptitude of authoritarian regimes. Even the most brutal censorship has failed time and time again.

Social networks have put an end to the monopoly of information. The world’s dictators are frightened and angry. It is urgent not to remain silent; these platforms must be used as trenches in the fight for freedom and democracy, but also in the fight against misinformation and hatred. The latter is a very difficult task, where censorship is often the easiest and most dangerous way out.

Arturo McFields Yescas is an exiled journalist, former Nicaraguan ambassador to the OAS and former member of the Norwegian Peace Corps (FK).

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