Brazil pushes back on U.S criticism over court order on Rumble

Recasts, adds background details, comments

BRASILIA, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Brazil's government on Wednesday pushed back on Washington's criticism of a Brazilian judge's order that video-sharing platform Rumble RUM.O remove U.S.-based accounts of a leading supporter of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

Earlier in the day the U.S. State Department Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said on X: "Blocking access to information and imposing fines on U.S. based companies for refusing to censor people living in the United States is incompatible with democratic values, including freedom of expression."

In response, Brazil's foreign relations ministry said that the U.S. State Department's "statement distorts the meaning of the Supreme Court's decisions, the effects of which are intended to ensure that the relevant Brazilian legislation is applied in Brazil, including the requirement for all companies operating in Brazil to have legal representatives."

Neither Brazil, nor the State Department mentioned Rumble by name, but the row comes after Brazil's Supreme Court suspended the platform in the Latin American nation.