A group of Republican lawmakers are calling on the U.S. State Department to take a decisive stand against Brazil’s campaign to crush free speech online.
Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and three other congressmen wrote a Sept. 18 letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, addressing Brazilian Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s censorship campaign and vendetta against American company X. The lawmakers urged Blinken to deny or revoke existing visas for de Moraes and any of his colleagues complicit in the un-American effort to silence free speech online.
“Chief Justice de Moraes has a well-documented history of curbing free speech, particularly against individuals and groups with conservative political views,” read the letter, co-signed by Salazar, Scott and Reps. Carlos A. Giménez (R-FL), Rich McCormick (R-GA) and Chris Smith (R-NJ). They argued that the ban on X after Elon Musk, the social media company’s owner, refused to comply with more requests for censorship of Brazilian politicians and dissidents is a “culmination of a broader pattern of judicial overreach.”
The Republican lawmakers continued, “X, a platform emblematic of free discourse, has been unjustly targeted, with de Moraes ordering the shutdown of the service in Brazil on questionable legal grounds.” Not only did de Moraes insist on the “banning of certain political figures from social media but also extensive gag orders against media outlets and activists critical of the court's decisions.” Even Starlink—another Elon Musk company—had its assets seized by de Moraes in an apparent attempt to pressure X.
The lawmakers insisted, “This overreach severely undermines Brazil's democratic institutions, placing the country's commitment to free speech in jeopardy.” They added, “This is not just an attack on free speech, but a blatant abuse of judicial power designed to intimidate and coerce. Brazil is one of the world's largest democracies, let's keep it that way.”
America has at least one action it can take to protest this “backsliding into authoritarianism” targeting both Brazilian and American entities, particularly X, the lawmakers announced. They urged Blinken to deny or revoke visas for de Moraes and his fellow anti-free speech justices.
Brazil’s military dictatorship might have ended in the 1980s, the Republican lawmakers noted, but “the recent actions of its judiciary are threatening to undo these hard-earned democratic gains. A free and open press, along with the right to criticize public officials, is the bedrock of any functioning democracy.” Accordingly, Blinken and the U.S. State Department should stand up for free speech and the “long-term stability of the Western Hemisphere,” the politicians concluded.
Unfortunately, the State Department is unlikely to protest the persecution of X in Brazil, as the federal agency is also accused of funding entities that promote censorship through its Global Engagement Center.
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