SAO PAULO. A conservative party in Brazil has launched a legal challenge against Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ decision to ban Elon Musk’s X platform, potentially intensifying the ongoing battle over censorship and hate speech in South America’s largest country.
Partido Novo is seeking to reverse the ban on X, formerly known as Twitter, imposed by Moraes for failing to comply with court orders to block accounts accused of spreading “fake news” and hate speech deemed a threat to democracy. The challenge will now be reviewed by another top court judge, adding complexity to the months-long dispute between Brazil’s judiciary and Musk’s business ventures.
“This is about freedom of expression—we want X back to normal in Brazil,” said Jonathan Mariano, a federal prosecutor and Partido Novo candidate for Rio de Janeiro’s city council, in a statement to Reuters.
The judge’s ruling, which also froze the assets of Musk’s Starlink satellite broadband firm, has sparked controversy. Moraes justified the asset freeze as a potential resource for paying the fines owed by X. However, Partido Novo argued that the two companies are distinct entities and questioned the legality of the decision.
Musk, in response to the ban, called Moraes a “dictator” and accused him of “shutting down the #1 source of truth in Brazil.” X has since closed its Brazil offices, citing the judge’s actions as “censorship.”
Court Battle Over X Ban
Partido Novo’s legal challenge will be handled by Justice Kassio Nunes Marques, a judge appointed by far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro. Marques may either refer the case to a wider court panel or dismiss it altogether. No date has been set for the decision, but Marques is expected to act swiftly due to the widespread repercussions of Moraes’ rulings.
Brazil’s current leftist President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has backed Moraes’ decision, stating, “Just because a guy has a lot of money doesn’t mean he can disrespect the law.” Musk dismissed Lula as Moraes’ “lapdog.”
Moraes’ actions have received support from one of the Supreme Court’s two panels, although some legal experts believe the issue should have been debated by all 11 justices. “Such a controversial issue should have been debated by the entire court,” said constitutional lawyer Vera Chemim, who believes the case represents a broader power struggle between Musk and Moraes. Chemim also called for the immediate reversal of the freeze on Starlink’s accounts, arguing it violates Brazilian law.
Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Carlos Ayres Britto, however, disagreed, stating, “X and Starlink are tentacles of the same octopus; they form an economic group.”
Wider Opposition to the Ban
Partido Novo is not the only group opposing the ban. The Brazilian Bar Association has also filed a motion to overturn Moraes’ order, particularly questioning the daily fines of 50,000 reais ($8,900) imposed on Brazilians using VPNs to access X. The association argues that the fines infringe on constitutional principles, including the separation of powers, full defense, and due process.
As the legal battle over the X platform continues, the feud between Elon Musk’s business empire and Brazil’s judiciary shows no signs of abating, with significant implications for freedom of expression and digital censorship in the country.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
