Ocean County Leader

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has urged Brazil's government to reverse its recent decision to block access to X (formerly known as Twitter) and prohibit its citizens from using the social media platform.

"The government of Brazil has both raised the stakes and hit a new low—it has expanded from persecuting political opposition by removing them from social media to banning one of the biggest social news networks in the world and making it illegal for Brazilians to access it," said Smith, who also serves as Chair of the House Global Human Rights Subcommittee.

"Brazil must immediately reverse course," Smith added. "Threats to free speech are threats to free elections and to democracy itself."

Smith, an outspoken advocate for victims of human rights violations in Congress, chaired a congressional hearing in May that examined Brazil’s extensive human rights abuses. Prior to this hearing, Smith requested information from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights regarding allegations against Brazil's government.

Earlier this year, Smith hosted a news conference on Capitol Hill where Brazilians de-platformed from social media by order of Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes shared their experiences of government persecution.

Smith mentioned that he sought information from de Moraes through a letter but has not received a response.

"On June 21, I sent a letter to Minister Alexandre de Moraes asking for information about allegations regarding de Moraes’s role in widespread human rights violations committed," said Smith. "Minister de Moraes did not reply—nor did I hear from the Presidents of the Federal Senate and Chamber of Deputies, who also received my letter to de Moraes."

"In order to respond to the crisis de Moraes has created in Brazil, I am now working with colleagues on legislation about the matter," stated Smith, expressing gratitude towards Brazilian patriots fighting for freedom and democratic governance.

Smith has long expressed concerns about human rights under President Lula's administration. In 2009, he traveled to Brazil to successfully advocate for the return of a New Jersey child abducted and held there for five years. As part of this effort, Smith authored the Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act, which provides tools for the U.S. State Department to pressure foreign governments into returning American children abducted overseas.