Brazilian Court Orders Blocking Of Rumble

JAKARTA - Brazil's Supreme Court on Friday, February 21 ordered the cessation of the operation of the video-sharing platform from the United States, Rumble, in the country. This decision was taken after the platform refused to comply with court orders, including blocking the account of a streamer who is being investigated on suspicion of spreading hate speech and false information.

Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who also ordered a temporary suspension of platform X (formerly Twitter) in Brazil last year, presided over this ruling. The court ordered that Rumble would remain blocked until the platform appointed legal representatives in Brazil and fulfilled other orders, including payment of pending fines.

This decision sparked a strong reaction from Rumble, which called the move excessive by the court. "We are exploring all legal channels against this decision," Rumble said in a statement, quoted by VOI from Reuters.

Rumble is known as a platform widely used by far-right influencers and supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. The conflict began when Brazilian courts ordered Rumble to block Allan dos Santos' account, a digital figure known close to Bolsonaro. Dos Santos, who currently lives in the United States, is considered a fugitive in Brazil after his arrest warrant was issued in a case of disinformation and hate speech.

On February 9, Judge Moraes ordered Rumble to immediately deactivate dos Santos' account and stop monetizing his profile. However, Rumble refused to comply with this order. The company argued that they would not censor users outside of Brazil's jurisdiction.

Judge Moraes responded to Rumble's stance by accusing the platform of deliberately disguising differences between censorship and constitutional bans on hate speech and anti-democracy measures. "Rumble deliberately obscured the boundaries between censorship and constitutional bans on hate speech as well as incitement to anti-democracy measures," he wrote in a court ruling.

Impact On Right-wing Social Media

The blocking of Rumble in Brazil also affected the operation of former US President Donald Trump's social media platform, Truth Social. The platform uses Rumble infrastructure for their video services, so the ban on Rumble in Brazil has also hampered Truth Social services in the country.

This week, Rumble and Trump Media & Technology Group sued Judge Moraes in a Florida court on charges of illegal censorship. They called Brazil's actions a form of "extrateritrial censorship" for seeking to control content broadcast from abroad.

Brazil Tightens Social Media Supervision

The court's decision to block Rumble reflects the Brazilian government's firm approach in fighting disinformation and hate speech on social media. Moraes, known as the main character in an effort to suppress threats against Brazilian democracy, previously also clashed with Elon Musk after platform X was ordered to comply with court orders regarding the removal of certain content.

This feud also occurred amid accusations against Bolsonaro, who was accused of designing a coup attempt after losing the 2022 election. Investigations of Bolsonaro's supporting network, including influencers and social media figures, have been further tightened by Brazilian courts.

With this decision, Brazil's telecommunications regulator, Anatel, was given 24 hours to ensure that Rumble could not be accessed in the country.

This decision further deepens global debate over restrictions on freedom of speech on digital platforms and the government's role in controlling disinformation