The battle between Elon Musk and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes continues to escalate following Brazil's ban on X with both sides unwilling to budge. Following the ban of X, Brazilians have turned to VPN to regain access to the social media platform. This triggered Judge Morae was determined to roll out an order to issue a daily fine of R$50,000 for people or companies that use VPNs to access the social media platform.
Of course, there were many who were upset that the judge was going to such an extreme measure to ban the social media app. Especially when X was such an important platform for Brazilians who used the application to engage in political debates and entertainment. To have something they used everyday to be suddenly stolen from them is nothing short of upsetting. Some are even coming forward to saying that Judge Morae's unilateral decision to prohibit the whole nation from using X is an infringement of free speech.
Bluesky, a decentralized microblogging social platform based in the United States, has experienced a significant increase in users from Brazil following the country’s ban on Elon Musk’s social media platform, X.
Elon Musk, of course, also chipped in his own thoughts on the matter. On his X account, he called Judge Morae a tyrant and a disgrace as a Judge.
Biggest winner of this war?
In a post on September 1, Bluesky Social, also known as Bsky, announced that it had gained one million new users over the previous three days. This surge came on the heels of an August 30 ruling by a Brazilian Supreme Court justice, who ordered the suspension of X in Brazil after Musk declined to appoint a legal representative for his platform in the country.
Mauricio Santoro, a political science professor at the State Univeristy of Rio de Janeiro, is even called such a law dystopian, saying that he never thought that such a thing would even happen in his own country.
Brazil's former president Bolsonaro also posted on his Instagram that X's departure from Brazil was " another blow to our freedom and legal security".
According to a Bluesky developer, the influx of new users led to a dramatic rise in daily app traffic, reaching 15 times the normal daily peak. The rapid growth underscores the platform's increasing popularity as users seek alternatives to traditional social media.
Bluesky, a decentralized social media platform and public benefit corporation, is owned by Jay Graber and headquartered in the U.S. Originally announced in 2019 by Jack Dorsey, Bluesky was officially launched to the public in February 2024 and reported a user base of over 7.6 million in September.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s X is embroiled in an ongoing legal battle with Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The conflict escalated after X refused to ban certain accounts accused of spreading election disinformation, leading to the platform's suspension in Brazil. On September 2, a panel of five Supreme Court justices upheld the August 30 ruling, reinforcing the suspension.
The crypto community has responded strongly to the censorship of X in Brazil, with some members speculating that similar actions could be taken by other countries. This situation has highlighted the growing tensions around content moderation and freedom of speech in the digital age.
Joy