The American government — after years of nurturing a censorship agenda in the South American country — is now penalizing Brazil’s super-censor Supreme Court justice, Alexandre de Moraes, along with various colleagues, for imposing censorship demands on U.S. companies.
The U.S. State Department revoked their visa privileges, preventing them from entering the United States. The general policy had been introduced May 28, when Secretary of State Rubio announced that it would apply to “foreign officials and [other] persons … complicit in censoring Americans.”
By then a UK police commissioner, Mark Rowley, had threatened to “come after” Americans who violate UK “hate speech” laws.
The Trump administration “will hold accountable foreign nationals who are responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States,” Rubio says.
“Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s political witch hunt against Jair Bolsonaro created a persecution and censorship complex so sweeping that it not only violates basic rights of Brazilians, but also extends beyond Brazil’s shores to target Americans.”
Bolsonaro, a former president of Brazil, is on trial for allegedly seeking to overturn the country’s 2022 presidential election. He has been prohibited from posting on social media or communicating with others under investigation.
One on this no-contact order is his own son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, currently living in the U.S.
Having ordered social media platforms Rumble and X(-Twitter) to censor opposition figures, Justice Moraes acted to block both services from operating in Brazil when the platforms disobeyed him.
“Free speech,” said X’s Elon Musk, “is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes.”
It’s a wonderful thing to have our government once again defending democratic free speech — from its enemies foreign and domestic.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
Illustration created with Krea and Firefly
See all recent commentary
(simplified and organized)
See recent popular posts
6 replies on “Brazilian Censors Banned!”
The United States should end its diplomatic relations with these two states, and bar all of their officials from entry.
While we should definitely view Brazil as an adversary, ending diplomatic relations with both countries seems extreme. Until they follow through on even one such threat, we should keep our powder dry. Then again, our people could boycott their countries and their products. We have the world’s largest consumer market. Hit them where it hurts: their wallet.
Pat, I think that the response of the US should demonstrate to foreign states that the costs even of trial balloons will be dire.
While I don’t think that boycotts should never be used, they often deliver most of their punishment to people who are not merely not aligned with the ultimate targets but already inclined to side against those targets.
Limiting people’s travel in the name of freedom is the kind of Orwellianism that’s become typical lately.
Also denied visas are the Venezuelan Little League team, winners of their regional, so that they can’t compete in the Little World Series. Because, y’know, 12 year old terrorists. You might comment on stuff like that occasionally, Paul.….
You started-off well, then make an utter fool of yourself with your last sentence. Paul has criticized various actions of the Trump Administration.