Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court (STF) on Friday rejected a lawsuit filed by GETTR appealing a court-mandated order forcing GETTR to remove the profile of Federal Deputy Carla Zambelli and other high-profile users under threat of heavy fines and complete platform suspension.

GETTR Chief Executive Officer Jason Miller released this statement following the verdict:

“The decision by the Federal Supreme Court to reject GETTR’s appeal against unfair user bans is disappointing. While the platform complies with all judicial decisions, this ruling allows the court to continue trampling on Brazilians’ free speech rights and censoring opinions it does not like, in this case from an elected official.”

“This is not the place of a judge or a social media platform and GETTR’s legal counsel is appealing the decision. Regardless of this verdict, GETTR is more committed than ever to Brazil and defending freedom of expression wherever it is under threat. Brazilians recognize the power of our platform, which is why sign-ups have grown by 500 percent in the wake of the presidential election.”

Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court has now sent multiple orders to ban high-profile individuals at the risk of heavy fines and complete platform suspension in a thinly veiled attack on freedom of expression.

Brazilians have flocked to the platform following the voting out of President Jair Bolsonaro and a string of high-profile account suspensions ordered by Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court, seeing an enormous 500 percent increase in sign-ups and a 20 percent growth in its overall Brazilian user base.

Today, GETTR is one of the world’s leading alternative social media platforms and defied market trends to double its unique users count in its first year. The platform has more than 7 million users in 192 countries and has recorded nearly 300 million livestream views.