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The growing clash between American constitutional principles and Brazil’s expanding judicial censorship has reached a new level, as the US Justice Department formally warned Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes about his efforts to impose restrictions on a US-based platform.
The letter, confirmed by Brazil’s Ministry of Justice, calls out de Moraes’s demand that Rumble, a video-sharing site popular with free speech advocates, block user accounts, including those operated by individuals in the United States.
Justice de Moraes has come to embody a deeper ideological divide in Brazil. To his supporters, primarily on the political left, he is seen as a bulwark against authoritarianism, a figure who helped stabilize Brazil following the 2022 unrest. But to a growing segment of the population and to many abroad, he is increasingly viewed as a judicial strongman, using the courts to crush dissent and muzzle right-leaning voices online under the guise of safeguarding democracy. His censorship orders have gone far and wide.
His actions have not gone unnoticed beyond Brazil’s borders. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled a visa restriction policy aimed at foreign officials engaged in censoring lawful speech.
Without naming names, Rubio pointed to Latin America as a region of concern and highlighted officials who have pressured US tech companies or threatened Americans with legal action over online content. The description closely tracks ongoing complaints about de Moraes’s activities.
The problem is the judge’s attempt to assert legal authority over a US company by instructing Rumble to disable a specific user’s account. According to the DOJ’s letter, while Brazil may pursue its own laws within its territory, it cannot extend that reach into the United States and force companies to comply with foreign speech restrictions. A federal judge in the US echoed that position, stating de Moraes’s orders appear to apply only inside Brazil.
Rumble’s attorney, Martin De Luca, maintains that the order clearly targeted a user based in the United States. The platform, known for its stance against censorship, is now at the center of an international standoff over online expression.
In February, Trump Media & Technology Group and Rumble filed a lawsuit against de Moraes. The suit charges him with ordering the removal of accounts run by a Brazilian national currently seeking asylum in the United States.
This development has set off urgent diplomatic discussions. Brazilian officials, concerned about the repercussions, have entered into high-level talks with the US, including a meeting involving Brazil’s foreign minister Mauro Vieira.
According to the New York Times, the government argues that the judge’s takedown orders were issued in response to a real threat, citing attempted military interference and the January 2023 storming of government buildings by Bolsonaro loyalists.
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