US House seeks clarification from FBI after Twitter Files

The United States House of Representatives sent a letter to the FBI (North American intelligence service) asking for clarification on a possible connection with the Brazilian government in blocking profiles on social networks, especially on X (formerly Twitter). The document, dated May 21, is signed by the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Republican Representative Jim Jordan (Ohio). Here is the full document (PDF – 338 kB).

In the text, the deputies request a series of official records of conversations between the FBI and Brazilian authorities regarding the requests from the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) and the STF (Supreme Federal Court) to ban accounts on the platforms.

Here is what is required:

• all documents and communications between FBI employees, including, but not limited to, the FBI Legal Attaché in Brazil, FBI headquarters and the FBI Field Office in Miami, pertaining to or related to TSE orders, demands or mandates or STF in relation to the suspension or removal of accounts on X, Rumble or any other social media platform;
• all documents and communications between the FBI and the Executive Branch, agencies, including the Department of State and the US Embassy in Brazil, referring to or related to orders, demands or mandates from the TSE or STF relating to the suspension or removal of accounts on X, Rumble or any other social media platform; It is
• all documents and communications between the FBI and the Brazilian government regarding orders, demands or mandates from the TSE or STF to suspend or remove accounts on X, Rumble or any other social media platform.

The document was released by the North American journalist Michael Shellenberger, author of the report on Twitter Files Brazil, on his profile on X this Wednesday (May 22, 2024).

“Most Americans think that Brazil is a liberal democracy, but it is not. President Lula is cracking down on free speech, and a crooked Supreme Court judge named Alexandre de Moraes is demanding that social media platforms ban journalists and politicians he doesn’t like.”these.

He states that after the content was released “everyone can see the criminal censorship” of Lula and Moraes. “And the US Congress demands answers from the FBI about its role in Brazil’s march towards totalitarianism”he completed.

The commission had already taken a position on the STF’s alleged censorship of platforms. On April 17, it published a report called “The attack on freedom of expression abroad and the silence of the Biden administration: the case of Brazil”.

The text was released after X (former Twitter) sent the commission a compilation of requests made by the Supreme Court and the TSE for the social network to take down profiles and content on the platform.

“Records reveal that, since at least 2022, the Federal Supreme Court in Brazil, where Moraes serves as a judge, and the Superior Electoral Court of Brazil, also led by Moraes, have ordered X Corp to suspend or remove nearly 150 accounts on the platform . The majority of censorship demands were specifically directed at critics of the current Brazilian government.”says the report.

TWITTER FILES BRAZIL

In early April, American journalist Michael Shellenberger published an alleged exchange of emails between employees in the legal sector of X in Brazil between 2020 and 2022 talking about requests and court orders received regarding content from its users.

The messages would show requests from various instances of the Brazilian Judiciary requesting personal data from users who used hashtags about the electoral process and content moderation.

Shellenberger specifically criticized STF (Supreme Federal Court) minister Alexandre de Moraes, criticizing him for “leading a case of widespread repression of freedom of expression in Brazil”. According to him, Moraes issued decisions by the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) that “threaten democracy in Brazil” by asking for interventions in publications by members of the National Congress and personal account data – which would violate the platform’s guidelines. The records of the processes mentioned in the case are confidential.

The case was named Twitter Files Brazil in reference to the Twitter Files originally published in 2022, after Musk purchased X, in October of that year.

At the time, Musk delivered material to journalists that indicated how the social network, in the 2020 North American elections, collaborated with United States authorities to block users and suppress stories involving the son of the country’s presidential candidate Joe Biden.

The files published by journalists include email exchanges that reveal, to some extent, how Twitter reacted to requests from governments to intervene in the policy of publishing and removing content. In some cases, the social network ended up giving in.

In the Brazilian case, Musk was not indicated as the source who provided the material, however, the businessman criticized Moraes for a few days.