On Wednesday night, the United States House Legal Committee released a report on its investigation into orders from Federal Supreme Court (STF) Minister Alexandre de Moraes. The committee’s document was sent to Uzra Zeya, Undersecretary of State for Civil Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, to examine whether President Joe Biden from the Democratic Party collaborated with censorship in Brazil, particularly on social media platform X.
The committee’s investigation focused on whether the US Executive Branch worked with companies to censor legal speech and how governments in other countries attempted to suppress online speech. Recent reports highlighted that Brazil had blocked certain accounts on X social media platform due to government concerns about disinformation. Judge Alexandre de Moraes launched an investigation into X after it refused to comply with censorship demands. According to X, it was being forced by court decisions to block popular accounts in Brazil.
The committee requested that the Biden administration provide all documents and communications related to orders issued by the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and STF to suspend or remove accounts on social media platforms. Additionally, they asked for a report from experts on what actions the State Department should take in response to attacks on freedom of expression in Brazil.
The Biden administration has until the 30th of the month to respond with the requested information.