By Dr. Bady Curi Neto
Freedom of expression is one of the pillars of a democratic state; weakening this pillar either makes democracy weak or establishes a dictatorship dressed up as a democracy. Unfortunately, we are currently experiencing a very difficult time in this regard. What’s worse, it’s at the initiative of our Federal Supreme Court, which is responsible, at least in theory, for ensuring the rights and guarantees of citizens contained in our Federal Constitution.
You don’t have to strain your memory to remember how many social networks have been blocked and demonetized, including Members of Parliament and Senators, who, as representatives of the people, are inviolable, civilly and criminally, for any of their opinions and words.
Under the auspices of the Digital Militias or Fake News (End of the World, so called by Justice Marco Aurelio de Mello) inquiry, the STF has gagged several people, ordering the suspension not only of existing posts that they deem to go beyond freedom of expression, but also excluding citizens’ social networks, which clearly amounts to prior censorship. It has reached the point, as revealed by the Folha de São Paulo newspaper, of an attempt to demonetize even a journalistic magazine.
Justice Marco Aurelio de Melo, in a recent interview on Band News, said: “It doesn’t cross my mind to remove someone from a social network, this is not in line with the Law itself. This is typical of authoritarian regimes and I don’t think we are living under an authoritarian regime in Brazil.”
It’s important to note that judicial decisions are complied with or appealed within the procedural rules in force. The obligation to comply with them does not make them immune to criticism, even acid criticism, given the freedom of opinion and expression.
This week, a decision by the Supreme Court ordering the closure of the X network (formerly Twitter) drew particular attention in Brazil and around the world. This is an investigation, based on a letter sent to the STF by the police authority, which investigates the possible commission of crimes to investigate, astonishingly, a criminal organization (four or more people structurally ordered and characterized by the division of tasks to prevent or hinder the investigation of a crime) and incitement to crime (art. 286 of the Penal Code).
According to Justice Moraes’ decision: “Social networks – especially ‘X’ – have become instrumental in exposing personal data, photographs, threats and coercion of police officers and their families…”
Without going into the merits of the decision that ordered the closure of X in Brazil, since there are several articles on the subject, the fact is that there are issues reflected in the decision that affect the population in general.
According to the decision, people (natural or legal), using technological subterfuges to continue communications through “X”, disrespecting the measure will be fined R$50,000.00 (fifty thousand reais) per day, without prejudice to other civil and criminal sanctions.
The decision, as you can see, affects all Brazilians who are not even part of the process, have not been summoned and sometimes are not even aware of its content, which, by the way, is a legal absurdity, divorced from the normative framework, which is a deadly violation of the basic principles of constitutional rights and guarantees, such as due process of law, broad defense, adversarial proceedings, among many others.
If the decision is not overturned, we will be facing an authoritarian regime under the baton of the Judiciary. Democracy cannot be defended with censorship and an affront to the Federal Constitution. In the words of Rui Barbosa: “With the law, by the law and within the law, because outside the law there is no salvation”.
About the Author: Bady Curi Neto, founding lawyer of Bady Curi Advocacia Empresarial, former judge of the Regional Electoral Court of Minas Gerais (TRE-MG) and university professor