On Sunday (7), the minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Alexandre de Moraes, opened an investigation against billionaire Elon Musk, owner of X, the former Twitter, for crimes of obstruction of justice, including criminal organization and initiation of crime. The judge also ordered the inclusion of Musk in the investigation of the so-called digital militias for, in theory, “intentional criminal exploitation” of the social network X.
Alexandre de Moraes' decision triggered a worldwide repercussion on the case, after Musk classified it as “violations of Brazilian law”.
According to Moraes' decision, X cannot disobey any court order already determined, including those that prevent the reactivation of profiles blocked by the STF or the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). In case of non-compliance, the company may suffer a daily fine of 100 thousand reais per profile.
The STF minister also received institutional support from the head of the Judiciary, Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, indicating that Moraes' position and decisions are not of a personal nature.
Know the countries where X is blocked.
China
In China, access to X, formerly Twitter, was blocked in 2009, just days before the 20th anniversary of the bloody repression in Tiananmen Square.
On that occasion, before dawn on June 4, 1989, tanks invaded Tiananmen Square, in the heart of Beijing, to quell weeks of protests by students and workers.
Access to the Hotmail provider was also blocked in 2009.
China maintains constant surveillance of the internet, including Chinese social networks. Reports of user arrests after criticizing the government in social media posts are common in the country.
Myanmar
Also in Asia, Myanmar's military regime expanded repression from the streets to the internet when it took power in February 2021.
Days after the coup d'état, Myanmar's Ministry of Transport and Communications ordered internet providers to block access to X, at the time Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, according to the Norwegian company Telenor, which offers mobile services in the country.
At the time, Twitter said in a statement that it was “deeply concerned” about the request. “This harms public dialogue and people’s rights to make their voices heard,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to CNN Business.
According to a 2022 report by the UN Human Rights Agency, telecommunications providers are under strong pressure to hand over user data to the police and military.
“The lack of connectivity in large parts of the country also presents a challenge to UN officials, who rely on contemporaneous evidence of human rights violations,” the report states.
Will
Twitter and Facebook have been banned in Iran since 2009, when the population took to the streets in protests that became known as the Green Revolution. The regime's concern was that the demonstrations would expand and become more organized.
In 2013, due to a technical error, the two social networks were suspended, but were banned again hours later.
According to X itself, Iran continues to block access to X for ordinary users.
North Korea
North Korea is one of the most closed nations when it comes to access to Western websites and platforms.
According to Voice of America, a news agency sponsored by the United States government, North Korea officially announced on April 1, 2016 that it has blocked websites such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Voice of America and several other South media sites. -Korean.
The country also said that gaming sites, “sex and adult sites” were blocked. Few North Koreans have access to the Internet, but previously foreign residents and visitors have been able to access web pages with almost no restrictions.
It is estimated that more than 2 million North Koreans use cell phones, but with few exceptions, Internet access is limited to employees, technicians or others who have special permission to use it, often under close supervision.
Russia
The Russian government's communications authority announced, in March 2022, the blocking of Twitter and the platforms of Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram. The blocking of access to social networks took place after the start of the war against Ukraine, in February of the same year.
Russian state news agency Tass reported that even after Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter and changing the platform's domain and name to X, the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media saw no reason to unblock access to X.
Turkmenistan
In Turkmenistan, a Central Asian country that shares borders with Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan, the government maintains strict control over all press and the internet. Citizens do not have access to global information sources on the web and risk being fined if they try to use VPN access. Access to information is provided by news agencies linked to the government. Independent or opposition media operate from abroad.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
