“Musk, Behaving Like a Supranational Entity”
Fined 12 million won per day for circumventing access
Brazilian political controversy intensifies
Musk Criticizes Judge for Acting Like a Dictator,
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, ‘”Elon Musk did not respect Brazil’s sovereignty. The suspension of ‘X’ is justified.” (Alexandre Jimoires, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice)’,
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, ‘”Justice Jimoires, who banned ‘X’ in Brazil, is not a judge but a ‘dictator.'” (Elon Musk, X owner and CEO of Tesla)’,
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, ‘On August 30th local time, the Brazilian Supreme Court ruling that banned the domestic use of X, a US social media platform, has escalated the long-standing left-right political conflict in Brazil. Left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva responded, “The actions of the Supreme Court are justified,” while right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro, known as the ‘Trump of Brazil,’ opposed, saying, “It infringes on freedom of expression and damages the quality of information being transmitted to citizens.” Currently, about 40 million people, or 20% of Brazil’s population, use X.’,
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, ‘Justice Jimoires (56), who has served as a Supreme Court justice since 2017, cited reasons for the service suspension including facilitating the spread of false information in this year’s local elections and the 2022 presidential electoral process, as well as repeatedly and deliberately disregarding court orders. He especially criticized CEO Musk for behaving as if he were a supranational entity, showing disrespect for Brazil’s sovereignty, particularly towards the judiciary.’,
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, ‘As a result, access to X has been blocked within Brazil since August 31st. If it is found that individuals circumvented access to X using virtual private networks (VPN), they will be fined 50,000 reais (approximately 12 million won) per day. Assets of Musk’s satellite internet company Starlink within Brazil will also be frozen.’,
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, ‘The Brazilian Supreme Court functions as the Constitutional Court. The total of 11 justices can serve until the age of 75, effectively making it a lifetime appointment. Differing from many countries that have adopted a collegial system, each justice in the Brazilian Supreme Court can make individual rulings, such as imposing fines directly on specific cases. Justice Jimoires has been issuing judgments related to the operation of online services, including social media, since October 2022.’,
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, ‘The extreme differences in reactions within Brazil’s political sphere regarding his decision are evident. The right-wing side opposes, claiming “the judiciary has become politicized,” while the left-wing camp praises him as “a guardian of democracy.” According to AFP, besides Brazil, other authoritarian countries that have blocked X include North Korea, China, Russia, Iran, and Turkmenistan.’,
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, ‘Musk, who supports Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate and former US president, in the November US election, has also taken aim at Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate critical of big tech. He suggested that if Harris were to win the presidential election, a similar event might occur in the US regarding X.’,
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