The First Chamber of the STF (Supreme Federal Court) unanimously decided this Monday (2) to maintain the suspension of X (formerly Twitter) in Brazil, as ordered by Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Moraes also lifted the confidentiality of the case and made it public. The justice is the rapporteur of the decision that took the social network owned by businessman Elon Musk offline, with whom he has exchanged barbs in recent months.
Although the decision was upheld by Flávio Dino, Cristiano Zanin, Cármen Lúcia, and Luiz Fux, Moraes' ruling was viewed with reservations by part of the STF.
When submitting his vote to be validated by the First Chamber, Moraes sought an environment in which he was confident of securing unanimous support from his peers for his order. The other chamber includes ministers appointed to the STF by former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL): Kassio Nunes Marques and André Mendonça. Both have disagreed, either entirely or in part, with other decisions by Moraes regarding matters related to supporters of the former president, such as cases concerning the January 8, 2023 attacks.
A faction of Supreme Court justices was irritated by Moraes' choice to send the case to the First Chamber instead of having it reviewed by the full court, with all 11 justices. Privately, this group expressed dissatisfaction, arguing that a decision of the magnitude of suspending a social network should be reviewed by the entire court.
They also argued that, legally, it is incorrect to send the case solely to the chamber, as the process against X is a branch of the digital militias inquiry, which falls under the full court's jurisdiction. Even in the First Chamber, despite voicing support for the decision, Fux also had reservations.