Vías El Reportero‘s wire services
A State Department report denounces that the Brazilian justice system took “broad and disproportionate measures” that affect freedom of expression and internet access.
In the midst of a tariff dispute initiated by the Donald Trump administration against Brazil, the U.S. State Department released a report on Tuesday stating that the human rights situation in Brazil “has deteriorated” during 2024. According to the document, there has been a decline in freedom of expression and internet use, also affecting “democratic debate.”
The report notes that the Brazilian justice system implemented “broad and disproportionate measures to limit freedom of expression and internet freedom, blocking access to information for millions of users.” This criticism is directed specifically at the social media platform X, which was temporarily suspended in Brazil for failing to comply with court orders, pay fines, and appoint a legal representative in the country. The United States described this incident as a “case of harassment.”
The report highlights that “the government restricted democratic debate by limiting access to online content deemed ‘undermining democracy,’ excessively repressing the freedom of expression of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, as well as journalists and elected politicians, frequently through secret procedures that lacked due process.”
The Trump administration accuses the Brazilian government of “also repressing politically unfavorable opinions under the argument that they constituted ‘hate speech,’ an ambiguous term unsupported by international human rights law.” It also questions the fact that Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration “did not always implement credible actions to identify and punish officials responsible for human rights violations.”
The United States believes the Brazilian justice system presents “significant human rights problems” by failing to punish events documented in “reliable reports,” such as “arbitrary or unlawful executions; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; arbitrary detentions; and severe restrictions on freedom of expression and the press, including violence or threats against journalists.”
