Alliance Defending Freedom (ADL) has launched an open letter, condemning Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes’ illegal attacks on X.
More than 100 professionals in the fields of journalism, theology, medicine, politics, and government, “urged” Brazil’s government to end their assault on free speech via “judicial overreach.”
Megan Basham, Seth Dillon, Riley Gaines, Wayne Grudem, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, were among the line-up of dignitaries taking point on the issue.
Also listed are Ezra Levant, Albert Mohler, Jnr., Samuel Sey, Michael Shellenberger, Liz Truss, and Tammy Peterson.
Requesting Brazil’s far-left government repeal its regressive lockout of the social media company, the open letter called for the restoration of “the free flow of information.”
This included a call to “respect the rights of its citizens to express their views without fear of retribution.”
Condemning Alexandre de Moraes’ late August ban, ADL said, “We, the undersigned, condemn the recent attack on free speech in Brazil.”
The letter then described the shutdown of X as “a dangerous escalation in the troubling global trend censoring speech.”
Singling out Government retribution for any Brazilian not complying with the virtual lockdown, the ADL added, “On 30 August, the judge ordered the immediate nationwide blocking of X and threatened fines of around $9,000 USD per day for anyone using a VPN to access the platform.”
This, the group of 100 agreed, was an illegal act.
Moraes’ judicial overreach, they explained, “punishes, both the platform and its users, stifling free discourse, and violating Brazil’s own constitution, which prohibits [a]ny and all censorship of a political, ideological, and artistic nature.
“The decision also violates international agreements like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”
ADL’s open letter also warned about the dangers of gagging freedom of speech for political convenience, stating, “This situation extends far beyond Brazil, serving as a striking example of a growing trend of censorship by government officials, who are becoming increasingly aggressive in suppressing speech they find objectionable.
“If this censorship in Brazil is allowed to persist, it could set a dangerous precedent that quickly spreads.”
ADL’s protest also targeted the largely leftwing push to control the flow of information by letting bureaucrats decide who gets to speak, what they get to speak about, and when they get to say it.
Indirectly referring to the Australian government, ADL’s Open Letter On the Free Speech Crisis in Brazil, explained,
“Recently, other world leaders have expressed pro-censorship sentiments, and there is no quicker path to the demise of democracy than the erosion of free speech.
“Freedom of expression is not negotiable, nor is it a privilege — it is the cornerstone of every democratic society.
“We must,” the group concluded, “defend it whenever it is under threat, whether in Brazil or anywhere else in the world.”
ADL’s concerns are justified.
Regimes in Russia, Iran, and China – Brazil’s key partners in the economic alliance known as BRICS – have bans in place, stopping ordinary citizens from using X.
Egypt, another BRICS member, banned the platform in 2011 for political reasons. Uzbekistan did the same in 2021.
Both countries banned X during, close to, or after elections.
They are an example of politicians banning free speech platforms because those democratic platforms are a threat to those who want to stay in, or take, power.
Australia isn’t immune.
COVID-19 mass government overreach put to one side.
Look at how the Labor government legally pursued X through the government’s eSafety arm in April.
They attempted to dictate what users could, and couldn’t talk about.
Such as the ban on footage of a Muslim stabbing a Christian bishop during a Church service in Western Sydney.
Anthony Albanese discontinued the eSafety Commission persecution of Musk in June because the government was losing big against X in court.
This concluded a three-month legal battle over Musk repeatedly refusing to comply with Australia’s eSafety demands to globally censor – hide – the Islamic terrorist attack.
Notably, Labor’s interest in censoring the truth here can be linked to the party’s sensitive Muslim voting bloc in Western Sydney.
Additionally, if the tone of the last week is indicative of what the Australian government’s regime socialists have planned, X could be banned here too.
Musk slammed Albanese’s revised, draconian “misinformation/disinformation” bill as ‘fascist.”
The X boss took issue with Labor legislating fines of up to “5% of its revenue” for any social media company failing to fall in, salute, and goose-step in unison with Labor’s “can say, this, can’t say that” thought police.
Aided by Australia’s legacy media, who considered the one-word response juvenile, Albanese fired back, saying, “Musk has a social responsibility.”
Not overlooking Albanese’s own salute to the collective hive mind, instead of retreating, Musk doubled down, stating, “Far left fascists love censorship.”
Like Brazil, if socialists running the Australian government want Musk shut down, they’ll find a crime, and then create a law to do so.
As ADL has reminded us, in this sense the fight for freedom of speech isn’t even close to being won, it’s only just beginning.
