Eagles football, flannels and censorship
Brazil has officially banned the social media platform X, and that is something that should concern everyone, not just Philadelphians heading down to São Paulo for the Eagles' Friday night game.
It is early September and a magical time for those of us in the greater Philadelphia area. The cool autumn air has made an early appearance, and the flannels will soon be out. Starbucks has unveiled a new apple crisp non dairy cream chai, the Phillies sit in first place in the NL East, and most significantly of all — our beloved Birds are set to have their season opener this Friday down in São Paulo, Brazil.
Not every Eagles player is excited for the matchup. Notably, defensive star Darius Slay has been vocal about heading to Brazil, citing concerns related to crime. I took issue with his complaints when I first read about them. There is no better way to turn a crowd against a team than criticizing the crowd’s hometown. But after reading the news this week, I am starting to agree with Slay, albeit for a different reason.
Brazil has officially banned X, the social media platform, and that is something that should concern everyone, not just Philadelphians heading down for the game.
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The ban is the culmination of an ongoing feud between Elon Musk and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who previously ordered X to ban certain accounts that were allegedly spreading misinformation. X refused to comply and eventually closed shop in Brazil after representatives there were threatened with arrest if they failed to follow the court order.
This left X without a legal representative in Brazil, something required of all foreign businesses operating there. The deadline to appoint such a representative has officially passed as of last Thursday, and now Brazil must brace itself for the ramifications of over 40 million X users going dark.
To be clear, this is a major issue.
It does not matter whether you think the Tesla Cybertruck looks like something out of Blade Runner or more like the trash can in the breakroom. It does not matter whether you think Musk purchasing Twitter and rebranding it as X was the greatest thing since sliced bread, or you wish Jack Dorsey was still at the helm. It does not matter whether you agree with Musk and his policies or not.
The fact is that X is one of the most widely utilized forms of social expression available worldwide. It has value as a medium for disseminating political views, news, and more. Freedom of expression is a fundamental tenet to any democracy. With that ability to freely express comes a trade-off. Views may be expressed that are disagreed with, or even seen as outright falsehoods. That does not serve as justification to ban speech generally.
With that ability to freely express comes a tradeoff.
While there have been times where courts here in the United States have limited freedom of speech for various reasons , what is happening in Brazil is quite different. In Brazil, the virtual mouthpiece of millions is being taken away. When people lose their ability to voice their frustrations, triumphs, and tribulations, they lose their ability to impact the world around them.
» READ MORE: When censorship wins, everybody loses | Opinion
Some will argue that there is no one to blame for this situation other than X. There is some validity to that argument. Had X appointed a legal representative, there would have been less justification for shutting the social media platform down in the country. Having a legal representative present in the jurisdiction where a business operates is quite common, and Brazil is not unique for requiring it.
Others will respond that it would have been irresponsible for X to do so, if such a representative could be subject to an unlawful arrest.
It is difficult to say at this point in time who is right in that discussion. What is clear is that 40 million people are losing a major medium of expression in a South American democracy.
So while you’re watching the game on Friday, take a moment to be thankful for the freedoms you have. Maybe you do not agree with this commentary. You should post on X about it. Express yourself. Many of those watching the game in person will not have the ability to do so.
Michael Mellon, an appellate attorney practicing in the state of New Jersey, is working toward obtaining a Master of Laws in cyber law and data privacy from Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline School of Law in Philadelphia. Follow him on X @ PrivacyLawMike.