Speak now, or forever hold your peace. Saturday, X went dark across Brazil, as Alexandre de Moraes, a judge in name, but something more like a dictator in terms of power, not only banned the platform from operation, but introduced exorbitant daily fines — around $9,000 a day, or the average Brazilian’s annual salary — for anyone caught accessing the platform on a virtual private network (VPN). Almost at once, the shocking decision was framed by the American press as a complicated conflict over “free speech,” in which the natural limits of liberty have been tested by people talking, and reasonable minds across the globe have understandably determined democracy is now in danger, apparently from itself. But the actual provocation of free speech is not what finally set off Brazil’s tyrant judge. In an effort to secure his political censorship, de Moraes threatened to jail Elon’s employees, allegedly including the lawyer defending X in court. In order to protect them, Elon dissolved his Brazilian team, revoking most of the company’s attack exposure in the country. Then, de Moraes lost his mind and nuked the platform. In a final “farewell, and get fucked,” Elon toggled Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet provider, to “free” across Brazil, where he refused to block X. As of now, this constitutes the single, slender lifeline to freedom for over 200 million people.

Obviously, the top beneficiaries of the Brazilian ban on X include pro-censorship Bluesky, whose CEO Jay Graber celebrated the decision — “Good job Brazil,” she said of one of the largest deplatformings in human history, “you made the right choice” — and Meta’s Threads, which is run by Mark Zuckerberg, who just last week promised he was a reformed man on the topic of bending over for deranged tyrants with a hard-on for censorship. Tbd on just how deep that “based” style evolution runs.

Now, both on principle and for purposes of pragmatism I try not to care about despotic law abroad. My focus is local, and I’m already dying on too many hills at home. If the Brazilians want a dictator judge, go off. Worship your evil king. It’s really not my problem, and it’s certainly not my business. But the Brazilian tyrant’s decision comes amidst a broader global backlash against American tech companies (UK, EU), which is largely driven by a rabid aversion to free speech, and in conversation surrounding the backlash it is now quite clear the anti-speech sentiment, and commitment, is shared by both our press and government. Here, rhetoric has also escalated.