Inside Story

Is Brazil’s ban of social media platform X legal or political?

Site failed to comply with court order to block accounts linked to disinformation.

Social media giant X has been banned in Brazil.

It is the latest development in a months-long dispute between a Supreme Court judge and tech billionaire Elon Musk over censorship and disinformation.

Brazil isn’t the first country to restrict access to the platform.

The ban is reigniting a debate about the role social media plays in politics, freedom of speech and the spread of misinformation.

How should social media giants be regulated? And is censorship being used as a political tool?

Presenter:

Dareen Abughaida

Guests:

Flora Rebello Arduini – Senior adviser on technology and human rights who focuses on disinformation and social media regulation

Chris Stokel-Walker – Technology and digital culture journalist who hosts a podcast called Techtonic examining freedom of expression online

Vinicius de Carvalho – Reader in Brazilian Studies at King’s College London and founder of the Observatory of Democracy in Latin America