House Republicans say Brazil using claims of 'disinformation' to suppress critics on X
GOP members of a House committee say the Brazilian government is trying to force Elon Musk and X to block accounts
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Republicans on the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government report they have a bombshell investigation into the Brazilian government's efforts to suppress critics on the social media platform X.
The committee’s investigation says Brazil's government threatened X and its CEO, Elon Musk, to shut down hundreds of accounts — many of which are critical of the Brazilian government.
These orders have given the social media company only two hours to comply and threatened fines of $20,000 if it did not.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the former president of Brazil and a Worker's Party candidate, gestures to reporters after voting Oct. 2, 2022, in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Brazil. (Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images / Getty Images)
GOVERNMENT'S INVOLVEMENT IN CENSORSHIP A ‘GRAVE THREAT TO OUR REPUBLIC,’ SAYS SEN. RAND PAUL
The accounts targeted, according to the report, were "critics of the Brazilian government and include former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, conservative members of the federal legislature, journalists, members of the judiciary, and even a gospel singer and a pop radio station"
The subcommittee says X indicated that court decisions in Brazil were forcing it to block these accounts and faced threats of not just fines but the arrest of X employees, causing X to shut down in Brazil.
The Brazilian courts justified their heavy-handed censorship effort, claiming "it is necessary, appropriate[,] and urgent to stop the possible spread of hate speech … by blocking accounts on social networks."
A view of Elon Musk's X account displayed on a mobile phone in Ankara, Turkey Jan. 9, 2024. (Muhammed Selim Korkutata/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The report warns "Congress must take seriously the warnings from Brazil and other countries seeking to suppress speech online. We must never think that it cannot happen here."
SUPREME COURT ALLOWS BIDEN ADMIN TO CONTINUE ASKING TECH FIRMS TO ADDRESS CONTROVERSIAL SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS
The subcommittee is now asking the White House to weigh in on the issue, writing in a letter from Rep. Jim Jordan to the State Department's under secretary for civilian security and special envoy and coordinator for democracy, and human rights.
Fox Business reached out to X and the State Department for comment.
Congressman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks during a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law hearing on "Online Platforms and Market Power" in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., July (Graeme Jennings/Pool via REUTERS / Reuters Photos)
"Free speech, including free speech on digital platforms, is a fundamental and necessary part of democratic and just societies." the letter states. It asks for the department to hand over documents on any social media censorship request from the Brazilian government "to understand what the State Department is doing to promote online free speech in Brazil and to protect against tyrannical censorship abroad."
FOX Business' Breck Dumas contributed to this report.