X Is Back in Brazil
WiredOCT 2024
Elon Musk and his social media platform eventually caved ininto to Brazil's demands and paid the fines, allowing users to go online again. The US First Amendment is not universal, and foreign governments are increasingly considering stricter regulations for online speech. Musk just learned that if he wants to do business abroad, he must abide by their rules.
The US First Amendment indeed doesn't protect free speech abroad indeed, but the right to freedom of expression — including to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of borders, is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. X was censored for political reasons — and this is all but protecting democracy.
There's a 40% chance that Alexandre de Moraes will cease to be a minister of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil before 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.