Key facts: Fines were established for anyone who accesses X through a VPN service. For Elon Musk, the Brazilian government is afraid that «the people will know the truth.» The judge of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) of Brazil, Alexandre de Moraes, has ordered today, August 30, the «immediate suspension» of access to social network Xformerly known as Twitter, in Brazilian territory. This decision follows the refusal of Elon Musk's company to appoint a legal representative in the country. A previous court order (which was breached by X) requested the blocking of accounts that spread messages described as «hateful» and «fake news.» Judge Moraes had given Musk a 24-hour ultimatum to comply with Brazilian law, warning that failure to comply would result in the suspension of the platform. The controversy intensified when Musk decided to close the X office in Brazil on August 17firing all employees, including legal representatives. Musk argued that The measure was due to «censorship demands» by Judge Moraes, who threatened to arrest X's legal representative if certain profiles were not blocked. On August 8, Moraes had ordered the blocking of seven accounts associated with supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, an order that X did not comply with, resulting in a daily fine of 20,000 reais (approximately US$3,560). In normal situations, any Brazilian could access X despite the ban through a VPN service. But Judge Moraes has established fines of around $8,000 to anyone who uses these tools to bypass the block and access X in Brazilian territory. This situation has had repercussions on another of Musk's companies, Starlinkwhose internet service also operates in Brazil. According to a Starlink statement released yesterday X, Their bank accounts in Brazil have been blocked as a result of the fines imposed.
Earlier this week we received an order from Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Moraes freezing Starlink’s finances and preventing it from engaging in financial transactions in that country. This order is based on an unfounded determination that Starlink should be held liable for fines unconstitutionally levied against X. It was issued in secret and without affording Starlink any of the due process guaranteed by the Brazilian Constitution. We intend to address the matter legally. Starlink, a satellite internet provider.
In response to these decisions, SpaceX (the company on which Starlink's service depends) will provide internet service to users in Brazil for free until the matter is resolved. «We can't get paid, but we don't want to cut off anyone's service,» explained Elon Musk, who added: «Many remote schools and hospitals depend on SpaceX's Starlink!»
“Attacks on freedom of expression are unprecedented”: Elon Musk
Elon Musk, through his social media account, has spoken out about what happened. He called Judge Moraes «the dictator Voldemort» and claimed that «he is trying to destroy democracy in Brazil.» Regarding the decisions that Moraes is making, the owner of X commented: «Freedom of expression is the basis of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes.» For Musk, «This year's attacks on freedom of expression are unprecedented in the 21st century» and he believes that the same will happen in the United States if Kamala Harris becomes president.
«The oppressive regime in Brazil is so afraid of letting the people know the truth that they will bankrupt anyone who tries.» Elon Musk, owner of X.
Elon Musk (pictured) is the owner of X, Tesla and Space X, among other companies. Source: YouTube/DW Spanish. Entrepreneur Mario Nawfal compared what is happening in Brazil with situations that were experienced during the last military governmentwhich began in 1964 and lasted 21 years. “With just over a month until municipal elections begin in Brazil, Supreme Court Justice Moraes and President Lula are working to shut down X and silence any account that does not agree with their political views,” Nawfal said, adding that during the dictatorship “all media outlets were censored.”
«For those who lived through that era, the actions of Lula and Moraes share chilling characteristics: censoring the only true platform for freedom of expression in the country. As the world watches events unfold, people are asking whether we are returning to being a dictatorship or whether we already are.» Mario Nawfal, businessman.
Chris Pavlovlski, CEO of the video-sharing platform Rumble (banned in Brazil), also gave his opinion on what happened and stated that “the world powers don’t want Rumble, they don’t want X and they don’t want Telegram.” This is because “they want to control information and these companies don’t allow it,” he said. “There is no other big company that fights for freedom like we do. We have put everything on the line for it, a CEO is in jail,” Pavlovski wrote on X. The businessman added: “Advertisers boycott our companies to try to cut our economic support, but they underestimate the support we have among the people. The people keep us alive and allow us to move forward.” Last week, BitcoinDynamic reported that Telegram founder Pavel Durov arrested in France for refusing to apply censorship within the application he runs. Ramiro Marra, advisor to Argentine President Javier Milei, said in relation to what happened in Brazil: «leftists will always want to control people's speech and way of thinking. They know that without that they have no power.»
“Just use bitcoin, they can’t stop you”
Economist Saifidean Ammous, known for —among other things— being the author of the book “The Bitcoin Standard,” recommended Musk to start accepting payments in bitcoin (BTC) on Starlink. “Just use bitcoin, they can’t stop you,” was Ammous’s argument. In addition, the bitcoiner explained to the American businessman that, by accepting bitcoin “it would give him more leverage to continue receiving payments” despite the restrictions and “it would encourage Brazilians to consider BTC and get out of their government’s fiat Ponzi.”
