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SAO PAULO (AP) — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Friday ordered the suspension of video-sharing platform Rumble in the South American nation for allegedly refusing to comply with court orders.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Thursday had given Rumble 48 hours to name a legal representative in Brazil, but he received no answer so far.
Moraes said Rumble has “repeatedly, consciously and willingly not complied, and is trying not to submit to Brazil's legal order and judiciary.”
He added that one of the decisions that Rumble has ignored is to remove the account of Allan dos Santos, a fugitive of Brazilian law, a resident in the United States since 2020 and a staunch supporter of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
“There's no evidence of the regularity of Rumble Inc's representation in Brazilian territory,” de Moraes said in his ruling.
Rumble said in a statement that it faces “unprecedented censorship in Brazil” and the action ordered by de Moraes “comes in response to our refusal to censor political dissidents residing in the United States.” The company said it was exploring all legal avenues to fight the action.
“Justice de Moraes demanded that Rumble remove specific content and halt financial transactions related to individuals exercising their free speech rights under U.S. law,” the statement said. “Our commitment to free expression and adherence to U.S. legal standards compelled us to reject these extraterritorial censorship demands."
Rumble has been accused of allowing far-right extremism, election disinformation and conspiracy theories. The platform was founded in 2013 and prides itself on being “immune to cancel culture.”
De Moraes' decision comes as U.S. President Donald Trump’s media group is suing the justice in a court in Florida, accusing him of violating U.S. free speech protections when he imposed a ban on a right-wing supporter of Bolsonaro.
It was joined as a plaintiff by Rumble.
De Moraes is the same justice who banned tech billionaire Elon Musk's X platform in Brazil in August for similar reasons. The justice also ruled that X would stay suspended until it complies with his orders. He also set a daily fine of 50,000 reais ($8,900) for people or companies using virtual private networks, or VPNs, to access it.
Some legal experts questioned the grounds for that decision and how it would be enforced. Others suggested the move was authoritarian.
De Moraes authorized X to return more than a month after it complied with his decisions. The judge and Musk clashed about the ban.
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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
