South OC Times

Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) have called on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to address censorship issues in Brazil. In a bicameral letter, they urged the State Department to take action against the Brazilian Supreme Court's restrictions on free speech.

The letter highlights actions taken by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, including banning the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) and imposing fines on the platform and its users. The letter states: "As you may know, in 2019, Brazil’s Supreme Court granted itself new powers to investigate speech. Justice Moraes then used these powers to compel social media companies operating within Brazil to censor dissent and deplatform opposition under the auspices of combatting 'disinformation.'"

The letter further notes that Justice Moraes has acted as judge, investigator, and prosecutor. It recalls a July 2019 incident where he authorized raids on homes and imprisoned opposition activists and allies of former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Issa and Scott argue that banning social media platform X in Brazil is a violation of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. They cite Article 19, which asserts peoples' "freedom of opinion and expression," and Article 5 of the Brazilian Constitution, which protects "expression of intellectual, artistic, scientific, and communication activity" from censorship or licensing requirements.

The letter was also signed by Representatives Maria Salazar (FL-27), Rich McCormick (GA-06), Warren Davidson (OH-08), Christopher Smith (NJ-04), Troy Nehls (TX-22), Michael Rulli (OH-06), Ben Cline (VA-06), and Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Ted Cruz (R-TX).