Elon Musk’s clash with the Lula government raises the issue of how to promote democracy and free speech in the new technological era.
The move by the Brazilian government of Luis Ignacio (Lula) da Silva against the Elon Musk-owned information companies X and Starlink have transcendental significance beyond the struggle at hand. It is illustrative of the efforts of regimes both authoritarian and democratic to shield themselves from informational, commercial and legal vulnerabilities arising from a global connectivity whose effects are made increasingly pronounced by advances in digital technologies.
Elon Musk versus the Lula Government in Brazil
The attempt by the Lula government to control the content of the social media platform “X,” and the escalation of the fight to involve Starlink, possible international legal battles involving Brazilian state assets, and even the National Football League, illustrates the complexity of the battle between the state and international agents, each partially vulnerable to the other. The Lula government initially attempted to oblige “X” to remove content that it maintained falsely challenged the integrity of its electronic voting system, by threatening to fine the company’s offices in Brazil or arrest its representatives. When Elon Musk, its CEO, shut down X’s offices in Brazil to reduce that vulnerability, the Lula government used the telecommunications authority Anatel, and the court system, including a ruling by a Supreme Court panel, announced by the body’s head Alexandre de Moraes, banning use of the platform in the country, which the Brazilian government attempted to enforce by telecommunications providers and other information services companies with legal exposure in Brazil, from supporting the App in the country. Indeed, it demanded that Apple and Google remove the X App from their App stores, while Anatel would inspect Brazilian telecommunication companies to verify they had removed X from their services.
Background photo of protesters in Brazil by Isaac Fontana/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock, from article (
https://globalamericans.org/brazils-attempt-to-control-x-the-deterioration-of-the-liberal-world-order)