Brazil: President Jair Bolsonaro's allies face Twitter, Facebook ban following court order

In Brazil, Facebook and Twitter have blocked the accounts of some key high-profile supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro. According to reports, the ban for Bolsonaro’s allies comes following a Supreme Court order.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes is reported to have ordered a ban on 16 Twitter accounts and 12 Facebook accounts on July 24 after a probe claimed that those specific accounts were linked to the spread of disinformation.

As per reports, among the accounts blocked is one that belongs to Roberto Jefferson, who is a former congressman as well as the president of the conservative PTB Party. Other suspended accounts reportedly include businessmen Luciano Hang, Edgar Corona, and Oscar Fakhoury, and activist Sara Giromini, widely known as Sarah Winter.

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According to reports, the order to ban all the listed accounts was first issued in May but it was not put in motion. On Saturday, the order was passed again in a bid to stop the accounts in question from engaging in alleged criminal conduct.

Facebook, in a statement, said that it respects the judiciary and would comply with any valid court order. Twitter also echoed the sentiment and said that it had acted in accordance with legal orders.

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'Impedes right to liberty of expression' 

If one attempts to go to the blocked accounts, one will be greeted with the message that states that the accounts were blocked in response to a legal order. The Bolsonaro allies did not waste any time in coming out with a response to the ban.

PTB party claimed that they were appalled by yet another 'arbitrary decision' aimed to censor a certain group and its line of thought, impeding the right to liberty of expression and opinion on social media.

As per reports, Winter, another victim of the ban stated that she would take up the ban with several international human rights organisations as the move was a serious breach of her right to freedom of speech and expression.

Brazilian President Bolsonaro is yet to comment on the ban but is reported to have criticised the investigation in the past while adding that the court inquiry is a threat to free speech.

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