Brazil’s Supreme Court has decided to keep the ban on X, formerly known as Twitter. This came after the platform failed to meet a court-imposed deadline to appoint a new legal representative in Brazil.
Three out of five justices voted to uphold the ban, making it clear that even if the other two judges vote against it, the decision stands. The ban took effect early Saturday and has left many in Brazil without access to the platform.
This clash started in April when Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of multiple accounts on X, claiming they were spreading false information.
The situation has been tense ever since, and the ban has split opinions across the country, with some supporting the court’s decision and others, like the billionaire CEO of X Elon Musk, arguing it’s an attack on free speech.
Elon called the judge an “unelected pseudo-judge” who was using his power for political reasons. Justice Moraes demanded that Apple and Google remove X from their app stores in Brazil within five days. If not, there could be consequences.
Last month, the company claimed that its representative was threatened with arrest for not complying with what they described as censorship. The legal battles continue, particularly for accounts accused of spreading misinformation.
Reportedly, many of these accounts are linked to supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
With X out of the picture, many Brazilians are looking for new places to speak their minds. Bluesky seems to be the biggest winner here. In just two days, they gained half a million new users in Brazil.
Jack Dorsey has been pushing Bluesky as a new place for people to go. He’s been pretty open about his support for Elon’s idea of “freedom technology,” and he’s also been promoting VPNs to get around restrictions like the ones we’re seeing in Brazil.
