The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) petitioned the Inter American Commission on Human Rights to reverse the censorship in Brazil initiated by communist Justice Alexandre de Moraes to eliminate X social media in the country.
The international human rights organization ADF stated it stands with Brazilians in the fight “against censorship” and will go to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to try to reverse the situation in Brazil.
As reported last week, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes suspended Twitter/X in Brazil on Friday, marking a new chapter on escalating authoritarianism in the country.
Moraes summoned Elon Musk directly on the social network, demanding he appoint a representative of the big tech company in Brazil. However, Musk did not comply. Amidst the case, Moraes ordered the blocking of Starlink accounts in Brazil—also owned by Musk—under the pretext of ensuring payment of fines levied against X.
The justice ordered Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency to be immediately notified and take all necessary steps to halt X’s operations in the country.
Moraes also issued orders to Apple and Google, given that their mobile devices run on iOS and Android operating systems. According to the justice, these companies must remove the X app from their stores.
The ADF tweeted out the news:
BREAKING: We have urgently petitioned the Inter American Commission on Human Rights, which has authority over Brazil under the American Convention.
The censorship from the Supreme Federal Court and Superior Electoral Court violate intl law.
NOW is the time to intervene. pic.twitter.com/g2KoxgyvVC
— ADF International (@ADFIntl) September 1, 2024
The ADF spelled out the numerous ways the Brazilian court’s censorship orders violated Article 41 of the American Convention.
“The censorship promoted by the highest judicial institutions in Brazil constitutes a clear violation of the rights enshrined in the American Convention on Human Rights,” the letter reads. Unfortunately, until now, it has not been the object of adequate attention by this Hon. Commission, nor by the Office of the Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression.
“The situation, severe and endemic in Brazil, has not even been included by the Rapporteur and the Commission in their annual reports! All this despite it being widely covered international media, notably the New York Times, Financial Times, Forbes, Washington Post, among others. More recently, the United States Congress has investigated these acts of censorship that represent severe violations of freedom of expression and human rights at the international level.”
Here is a copy of the letter sent to the Commissioners at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights:
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