Countries across the region are trending towards restricting free speech online, limiting access and censoring content.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Brazil has banned Axe. And Elon Musk is furious.
00:04But Brazil isn't the first government to clash with a social media giant.
00:08Axe has been facing criticism worldwide.
00:11Authorities in India, Pakistan and the European Union have raised some concerns.
00:16Here's what this means for us.
00:21In April 2024, a justice of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court ordered Axe to block accounts
00:27accused of spreading disinformation.
00:30Many of these accounts supported former Brazilian right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro.
00:34Axe refused to comply.
00:37Now Brazil's internet providers were told to block access to the site.
00:41Apple and Google were given a deadline to remove the app from their stores.
00:46Even VPN users just accessing Axe could face fines.
00:51Brazil is sending a clear message they don't want Musk's platform in their country.
00:56Musk fired back with angry tweets.
00:59He claims the move is political and illegal.
01:02But Axe is under fire elsewhere too.
01:04In the European Union, Musk is accused of violating social media laws.
01:08The charges? Misleading users with blue verification ticks,
01:13not being transparent about ads and denying scientists access to data.
01:19If found guilty, Axe could face a hefty fine.
01:22In a separate investigation, the EU is also probing Axe for disinformation.
01:27To see if Axe will be held responsible for disinformation spread via the platform,
01:32we'll have to wait for court rulings.
01:34Here's what we know so far.
01:37After taking over Twitter, Musk fired about 80 percent of its trust and safety team.
01:43They were the ones primarily dealing with disinformation.
01:47Last year, Musk also cut the team working to prevent election disruptions.
01:52Making blue tick verification purchasable allowed bad actors to appear legit.
01:58An EU investigation found Axe had the highest disinformation rate among major social networks.
02:04Recently, research revealed coordinated disinformation campaigns flooding the
02:09platform ahead of this year's EU Parliament elections.
02:13Axe vs. free speech
02:16In Pakistan, Axe has been blocked since earlier this year.
02:20The interior ministry cited national security concerns, but activists argue
02:25that the ban was meant to silence dissent after Pakistan's February elections.
02:31This kind of restricting free speech is what Musk now accuses Brazil of doing.
02:36Free speech is the bedrock of democracy,
02:39and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes, he said.
02:46Musk has always claimed to be a free speech absolutist, but his record suggests otherwise.
02:52True, he resisted Brazilian authorities, but he complied with India's government
02:58when they came knocking and requested to remove content critical of the ruling party.
03:02In April, Axe blocked several posts in India after the election commission said
03:07opposition posts were making unverified claims.
03:11And Musk himself hasn't always defended free speech.
03:14Axe has blocked several accounts that were critical of him.
03:19Should platforms be held responsible for what's posted by their users?
03:23Or should they just be regarded as a place where content is displayed,
03:28no matter what content?
03:30What's your opinion on these issues?
03:31Let us know.