Legal Battle Shuts Down X in Brazil: Key Points Behind the Controversy

Jornalismo

31.08.2024 - 11h22

Rio de Janeiro - RJ

On Friday, August 30th, Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the nationwide suspension of X (formerly Twitter), adding the country to a list of nations where this social media platform is no longer available. By Saturday (31) morning, the app was already showing instability, and the content was not loading as usual — an indication that the order is being enforced by the country's internet providers.

The decision followed CEO Elon Musk's refusal to appoint a legal representative in Brazil and his non-compliance with Moraes' content moderation orders. On Wednesday, August 28, Moraes summoned Musk (via a controversial post on X) to comply with Brazilian legislation in 24 hours. The businessman responded with sarcasm, posting memes generated by artificial intelligence, and calling the justice a censor and a dictator.

Here's what you need to know about this case:

Why did the Brazilian Supreme Court summon Elon Musk?

Musk has been under investigation in Brazil since the first week of April. In Inquiry #4957, he is investigated for obstruction of justice, involvement in a criminal organization, and incitement to crime. In the so-called Digital Militias Inquiry, connected to the attacks seen in Brasília on January 8, 2022, he is investigated as part of groups suspected of spreading fake news on social media to influence political processes. Brazil is currently in an election year, with more than 5,000 cities across the country set to choose their new mayors in October. The campaign period officially began on August 16th.

How did the investigation against Musk begin?

On April 3rd, Brazil was hit by the leak of internal emails sent from and within X. In those documents, the company criticized decisions made by the Superior Electoral Court (TSE, in Portuguese) in 2022. X appeared to disagree with judicial requests to remove content from the platform and to provide user data to the Superior Electoral Court. At that time, Moraes was the president of that entity and responsible for overseeing the general elections (including the presidential).

Four days after the leak, on April 7th, Moraes included Musk in the Digital Militias Inquiry and ordered X to refrain from "disobeying any judicial order already issued" by the Brazilian Judiciary, including reactivating profiles whose blocking had been ordered by the Supreme Court (STF, in Portuguese) or the TSE. It was also determined that, in case of non-compliance, a daily fine of R$ 100,000 (about USD 20,000) per profile would be imposed on the company, and the legal representatives of X in Brazil would be charged with disobedience to a judicial order.

Less than 24 hours later, on April 8th, Musk posted on social media that X had lifted all restrictions it had applied based on legal requests, and complained that Moraes had not only imposed heavy fines to the company but also threatened to imprison its staff. Musk mentioned that he might close X's office in Brazil in response to what he considered Moraes' excesses and "censorship." That same day, the judge included Musk in Inquiry #4957.

On August 17th, X announced the closure of its office in Brazil, which violates the country's legislation. To operate in national territory, all social media platforms must have at least a legal representative.

On August 28th, Moraes summoned Musk via X, demanding that, within 24 hours, he appoint a new representative for the company in Brazil. The CEO flooded his own social media with memes and jokes about the judge—some of them generated by artificial intelligence.

On August 30th, almost 48 hours after Musk was summoned, Moraes ordered X's suspension in the country. The social media platform still did not have a person in Brazil.

On August 31st, the platform was no longer available in the country.

Is it valid to summon someone via X in Brazil?

There is no final answer to this question, as it has become a legal controversy in the country. However, most experts consulted by Lupa believe that summoning someone via X is an invalid move.

In a statement, lawyer and professor Andréa Rocha, specialized in public law and coordinator of the International Law Department at the Brazilian Institute of Resources and Processes in Higher Courts (IRTS), stated that there is no legal regulation supporting summons made through social media, especially in criminal proceedings.

She emphasizes that the Brazilian legal system has methods to notify defendants abroad through diplomatic channels. Therefore, in her opinion, methods not provided for by law should only be used after all legal options have been exhausted, which did not seem the case here.

Lawyer Paulo Peixoto, a professor of constitutional law and human rights at Damásio Educacional, also classified the summons via X as atypical and pointed out the possibility that this could lead to the annulment of the entire inquiry.

"Since it involves a foreign company, a letter rogatory should have been issued according to the Code of Criminal Procedure and international treaties. In this sense, there is a possibility of declaring the act null and void," Peixoto explains.

André Marsiglia, a constitutional lawyer and specialist in freedom of expression, states that the summons "is not valid." He explains that, legally speaking, the summons must be delivered in person and also points out a problem with the document itself.

"Musk is not the CEO of the company; the recipient of the summons needs to respond legally on its behalf," he argues. The current CEO of X is Linda Yaccarino.

In an article for the UOL news portal, Wilton Gomes, a master's and doctoral candidate in State Law at the University of São Paulo, explains that despite the absence of specific federal legislation for summonses via social media, the principle of the instrumentalization of forms can validate the act if it fulfills its purpose without harming the parties.

"The summons of Elon Musk via X, through his personal profile, and moreover, the responses he made, giving a deadline for it to be acknowledged that he indeed 'received' the summons, and that it is of his undeniable knowledge, would be sufficient for the validation of the procedural summons, despite not being provided for in federal law and seeming atypical," Gomes wrote.

According to the Brazilian Supreme Court itself, the summons via X is unprecedented in the country. In a statement, the court highlighted that the platform has no legal representative in Brazil and that the lawyer appointed in the case was also summoned.

Will users still be able to access X by any other means?

No. On Friday (30th), Moraes ordered the suspension of X for failing to comply with the summons sent on Wednesday (August 28th) and for not appointing a legal representative in Brazil. The decision mandates that the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) and companies such as Apple, Google, internet providers, and phone operators like Claro, Tim, and Oi take measures to block access to the 'X' app in Brazil. As a result, users will be unable to access the platform from devices with an IP address in Brazil (Internet Protocol)—a unique address assigned to each device on a network to identify and locate its communication on the internet.

What about VPN (Virtual Private Network)?

In his order, Moraes also prohibited users from adopting alternative technological means, such as using a VPN to disguise the device's location (as being in another country) and access X. If a user attempts to access the platform via VPN, they will be fined R$ 50,000 (USD 10,000) per day, according to the decision.

For some specialists, like lawyer André Marsiglia, the decision to punish users for using VPN is irregular. "You cannot punish people who are not part of a legal process; you can punish the parties, but not third parties. And in this case, the users are third parties. The VPN tool is not illegal, so there should be no issue," he explained.

Editado por

Ana d'Angelo, Evelin Mendes e Luciana Corrêa

Clique aqui para ver como a Lupa faz suas checagens e acessar a política de transparência

A Lupa faz parte do

A Agência Lupa é membro verificado da International Fact-checking Network (IFCN). Cumpre os cinco princípios éticos estabelecidos pela rede de checadores e passa por auditorias independentes todos os anos.

A Lupa está infringindo esse código? FALE COM A IFCN

Tipo de Conteúdo: Explicador

Conteúdo que explica assuntos que são alvo de ondas desinformativas nas redes sociais.

Tags:

Twitter, elon musk, supreme court, Alexandre de Moraes, justice

Erramos? Informe à nossa redação

Leia também

11.09.2024 - 18h32

Meio ambiente

Brasil em chamas: verdades e mentiras sobre as queimadas e a fumaça que cobre 60% do Brasil

O Brasil está em chamas e, diferentemente das teorias conspiratórias que já circulam nas redes, o motivo não é a volta de Jesus Cristo e, sim, a ação humana. Reunimos as principais dúvidas e desinformações sobre a fumaça que encobre o Brasil e países vizinhos, assim como os motivos do número recorde de queimadas no país, confira:

Carol Macário

31.08.2024 - 11h31

Redes Sociais

Una batalla legal lleva al cierre de X en Brasil: Entienda los puntos clave

La Corte Suprema suspendió X en Brasil después de que Elon Musk ignorara la orden de nombrar un representante legal en el país. La plataforma de redes sociales quedará indisponible a nivel nacional por no cumplir con citaciones judiciales relacionadas con la moderación de contenido

Gabriela Soares

31.08.2024 - 11h22

Redes sociais

Legal Battle Shuts Down X in Brazil: Key Points Behind the Controversy

Supreme Court suspends X in Brazil after Elon Musk ignores order to appoint a legal representative. The social media platform faces a nationwide shutdown for failing to comply with the judicial summons related to content moderation.

Gabriela Soares

29.08.2024 - 19h16

Explicador

Motivo, intimação e VPN: entenda os principais pontos do embate STF e X

O ministro Alexandre de Moraes, do STF, intimou o empresário Elon Musk, dono do X, a indicar o novo representante legal da empresa no Brasil. Este virou um dos assuntos mais comentados nas redes no país. A intimação e possível bloqueio da rede geraram dúvidas sobre o modo como a intimação foi feita e ferramentas para furar um possível bloqueio.

Gabriela Soares

31.07.2024 - 16h00

Economia

Entenda como funciona a 'taxa da blusinha'

A taxa da blusinha, como ficou conhecido o projeto que estabelece a cobrança de 20% de imposto de importação para mercadorias de até US$ 50, começa a valer a partir desta quinta (1º). A medida afeta principalmente compras feitas em sites como AliExpress, Shopee e Shein. A Lupa elencou as principais dúvidas sobre a nova alíquota.

Ítalo Rômany

Sobre a lupa

Quem somos

Nossa metodologia

Política de correção

Fale com a gente

Sugestões de checagem

Quero ser um checador

Programa de membros

Faça parte do Contexto

Já é membro?

Entrar

revista piauí

Erramos

Política de privacidade

Assine nossa newsletter

sobre desinformação

Acompanhe nossas redes

Feito por