A U.S. congressional committee has released a secret Brazilian court order to suspend accounts on social media platform

The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee released a staff report late Wednesday revealing dozens of decisions by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in recent years, ordering X to suspend or remove about 150 apps from its platform User profile.

The 541-page report is the product of a committee subpoena against X. In his order, De Morais prohibited X from making the reports public.

“In order to comply with its obligations under U.S. law, X Corp. has responded to the Commission,” the company said in an April 15 X statement.

The revelation comes amid Musk’s battle with DeMorais.

Musk, a self-proclaimed free speech absolutist, has vowed to publish DeMorais’ order, which he equates to censorship.His crusade has been cheered by supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, who say they are the target of a witch hunt and have found common cause with ideological allies in the United States

De Morais oversaw a five-year investigation into so-called “digital militias” who allegedly spread defamatory fake news and threatened Supreme Court justices. The investigation widens to those who have incited demonstrations across the country in an attempt to overturn Bolsonaro’s 2022 election defeat. Those protests culminated in an uprising in the Brazilian capital on January 8, when Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings, including the Supreme Court, in an attempt to remove President Luiz Inácio Lula da Siro Silva was ousted.

De Moraes’ critics claim he has abused his power and should not be allowed to unilaterally ban social media accounts, including those of elected lawmakers. But most legal experts believe his reckless tactics were legally justified and justified in the extraordinary circumstances where democracy was at stake. They noted that his decisions were either supported by other judges or went unchallenged.

The secret order revealed by the congressional committee was issued by Brazil’s Supreme Court and its Supreme Electoral Court, of which de Moraes currently serves as president.

The Supreme Court’s press office declined to comment on the potential impact of their release when contacted by The Associated Press.

“Musk is indeed a very innovative businessman; he has innovated on electric cars, he has innovated on rockets, and now he has invented a new form through an intermediary that does not comply with court orders,” said the nonprofit said Carlos Affonso, director of the Institute of Technology and Society. “He said he would reveal the documents and he found someone to do it for him.”

Alfonso, who is also a civil rights professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, said the orders were legal but open to debate because users were not told why their accounts were suspended and whether the action was taken by or by the platform. Court Order. The order against X contained in the report also provides little justification.

The Supreme Court’s press office said in a statement Thursday afternoon that the orders did not contain any justification, but said the company and people whose accounts had been suspended could gain access by petitioning the court for a decision.

While Musk has repeatedly denounced De Morais’ order as a suppression of the principle of “free speech” and amounting to “aggressive censorship,” the company he owns has caved to the demands of governments around the world.

Last year, for example, X blocked posts critical of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and in February it blocked accounts and posts in India at the request of the Indian government.

“The Government of India has issued an executive order requiring X to take action against specific accounts and posts, with possible penalties including substantial fines and jail terms,” X’s Global Affairs account posted on February 21. “Following the order, we will withhold the information.” Accounts and posts in India only; however, we disagree with these actions and insist that free speech should extend to these posts. “

Brazil is an important market for X and other social media platforms. According to market research organization eMarketer, approximately 40 million Brazilians (about 18% of the population) visit X at least once a month.

X complied with the suspension under the threat of a hefty fine. De Moraes typically requires compliance within two hours and imposes daily fines of 100,000 reais ($20,000) for non-compliance.

It’s unclear whether the 150 suspended accounts represent all of the accounts DeMorais was ordered to suspend. It will not be clear until the commission’s report is released whether the total number will be a few, dozens or more. Some of the suspended accounts reported have been reactivated.

On April 6, Musk challenged De Morais on X, questioning why he was “demanding such rigorous scrutiny from Brazil.” The next day, the tech tycoon said he would no longer comply with a court order to block accounts and that DeMorais would either resign or be impeached. He predicted that X might be shut down in Brazil, and therefore instructed Brazilians to use VPNs to retain their access.

DeMorais quickly included Musk in the ongoing Digital Militia investigation and launched a separate investigation into whether Musk engaged in obstruction, criminal organization and sedition. On April 13, X’s legal representatives in Brazil wrote to De Moraes saying they would comply with all court orders, according to correspondence seen by The Associated Press.

Alfonso said the committee’s purpose in issuing the DeMorais order was not to target Brazil but the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden. The report quoted Brazil as “a stern warning to Americans about the threat posed by domestic government censorship.”

Since at least the 2016 presidential election, terms like “censorship” and “free speech” have become political rallying cries for American conservatives, who have grown frustrated with right-leaning commentators and high-profile Republican officials quitting Facebook and Twitter before Musk took office . A version that breaks the rules.

“The far right needs him (Musk) because they need a platform, they need a place to promote themselves. Elon Musk needs far right politicians because they will protect his platform from regulation,” Brazil David Nemer, a professor at the University of Virginia who studies social media, said.

In the United States, free speech is a constitutional right that is more lenient than in other countries, including Brazil. Still, the release of the report appears to have emboldened Bolsonaro and his far-right supporters.

On Wednesday night, shortly after the court order was issued, Bolsonaro ended his speech by calling on everyone to applaud Musk at a public event.

His audience eagerly agreed.