Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The Brazilian Supreme Court judge who won international fame by forcing Elon Musk into a rare retreat has said that democracy is at risk amid a slide into “fascist speech” unless social media platforms are regulated.Alexandre de Moraes, the shaven-headed justice who blocked Musk’s website X this year until it complied with judicial rulings, said the business model of social media networks had to change because it “depends on extremism”.“Social networks cannot be a lawless land,” de Moraes said at Global Boardroom, the FT’s digital conference. “The law that applies to the real world must also apply to the virtual one, otherwise we will allow the return of Nazi speech, fascist speech, attacks on democracy and people.”De Moraes became a hate figure for Brazil’s hard right movement, receiving death threats after leading a crusade against online extremism and hate speech during the 2022 election, when former president Jair Bolsonaro narrowly lost a re-election bid to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.A police investigation last month revealed an alleged far-right coup plot to kill Lula following his victory, and found that the judge was also an assassination target of the aborted conspiracy.Supporters of the 55-year-old former prosecutor say he has helped safeguard Latin America’s biggest democracy against a tide of fake news, repeatedly ordering social networks to take down extremist or false posts or face large fines. Opponents accuse him of censorship and unfairly targeting conservatives. “Social networks have allowed themselves to be used by extremists, primarily right-wing extremists,” the judge said. “And the lack of regulation together with the monetisation of this — because social networks make money from hate . . . really is a risk to democracy.“[This] has been used to direct the will of the voter and try to truly brainwash the electorate . . . The way social media does business depends on extremism.”De Moraes shot to international prominence this year when Musk labelled him a “evil dictator”, in a row sparked by X’s refusal to suspend several profiles suspected of spreading misinformation. The feud culminated in de Moraes blocking X in August, affecting some 20mn Brazilian users in one of the platform’s biggest markets. The ban was lifted in October after X agreed to meet court demands, including payment of hefty fines and the appointment of a legal representative in the country.With proposed legislation to regulate social media stuck in Brazil’s congress, the impasse has left greater scope for its top tribunal to adjudicate disputes. The supreme court is currently hearing a case on the legal responsibilities of social networks for material published by users.“All big businesses [and] instruments that affect society in the history of humanity have been regulated,” said de Moraes. “There are studies in Europe and the US about the increase in teen suicides because of virtual bullying. So the justice system and legislatures need to curb abuse and excesses, fully guaranteeing freedom of expression [but] with responsibility,” he added.Free speech advocates argue that Brazil’s supreme court has gone too far, but de Moraes insisted he favoured “minimalist” regulation that ensured “the free market of ideas”. “I don’t think that companies, big techs, should be held accountable for and have to control all content. That is impossible from a practical point of view,” he said. Yet technology groups like Google that now earn significant revenues from advertising should bear “the same responsibility as media companies”, de Moraes added.Bolsonaro’s followers argue the judge’s approach is anything but light touch, saying hundreds of people including politicians have had social media accounts barred or material removed on his orders.De Moraes and his family have been under police protection since the 2022 election. Investigators have alleged he and other establishment figures were targeted for assassination by far-right military officers plotting to keep Bolsonaro in power.The conspirators intended to murder Lula, his vice president-elect Geraldo Alckmin and the supreme justice, according to a police report from the investigation overseen by de Moraes. Brazil’s prosecutor-general must now decide whether to bring formal charges against the suspects, who include Bolsonaro and retired generals. They have denied the claims.De Moraes described the alleged scheme as “the most co-ordinated and serious attack on democracy” in Brazil since the end of military dictatorship in 1985 and rejected accusations of abuse of power levelled against him.Bolsonaro’s lawyers have argued de Moraes has a conflict of interest and so should be removed from overseeing the coup investigation, given that he was allegedly a potential victim.“All the final judgments are collegial, made by the ministers of the supreme federal court, who may or may not agree with my decisions,” he said.
