“The content removal orders [from social media] issued by Brazil on a global scale, its coordination with U.S. and foreign censors, and the removal of legal protections for American social media platforms represent a threat to Americans’ freedom of speech.

These actions demonstrate that Brazil is not only seeking to silence political dissent within its borders, but also to suppress freedom of expression worldwide, including in the United States. For example, between September 2025 and February 2026, Justice Moraes issued a series of orders against Eduardo Bolsonaro [PL-SP] — son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro [PL] and brother of Flávio Bolsonaro [PL-RJ], one of the leading candidates for the Brazilian presidency — who currently resides in the United States and is a prominent advocate for the imposition of U.S. sanctions against Justice Moraes.

These censorship orders by Justice Moraes and the information requests from the Brazilian Federal Police related to the underlying investigation prohibit platforms from ‘disclosing the decision to lift confidentiality — as well as the preservation of the data itself — to the owners of the profiles, given the confidential nature of the investigation and the risk of obstruction,’ making the orders secret both to the public and to the target of the censorship.”

Brazilian judges have openly admitted that they are trying to censor speech from “outside [Brazil’s] national borders.”

That’s right: these Brazilian judges claim the extraordinary power to demand the global removal of posts that originate in the United States and elsewhere.

It is a direct threat to free expression and national sovereignty around the world.

Many of these Brazilian censorship orders specifically target American speech. Justice Moraes has repeatedly tried to silence American podcasters and influencers.

When platforms like X and Rumble refused to enforce these illegal orders on behalf of a foreign government, Justice Moraes banned the platforms.

Brazil’s primary censorship agency, the Integrated Center for Confronting Disinformation and Defending Democracy (CIEDDE), also targets American speech.

Documents show that CIEDDE tried to force X to censor political speech praising President Trump and criticizing former President Biden. X held the line and refused to take the posts down.

Even worse, these Brazilian censorship orders—particularly those from Justice Moraes—show a clear pattern: They target political enemies.

Moraes routinely orders the removal of posts that criticize him.

He also tries to silence anyone who advocates for free speech. After Eduardo Bolsonaro—a member of the Brazilian Congress and the son of former President Bolsonaro—reportedly urged the U.S. government to sanction Moraes for his censorship, Moraes targeted Bolsonaro with censorship orders of his own for “circulating false news about officials of the national financial system, particularly Banco do Brasil.”