Brazil’s attorney general has filed an injunction to suspend the Twitter accounts of users who tweet out warnings about the timing and location of speed traps and traffic checkpoints. If the injunction is granted, Twitter users who violate it could face a fine of $290,000 (US) daily.
Brazilian officials charge that Twitter users who warn citizens of the government’s attempts at traffic enforcement violate the law and endanger the public by making it harder for police to do their jobs. The government asks that the Twitter accounts of users who violate the injunction be suspended and their tweets blocked.
It is not yet clear whether Twitter intends to cooperate with the Brazilian government in suspending user accounts and blocking tweets. This seems like the sort of situation for which Twitter’s recently announced censorship program was tailor-made. Depending on Twitter’s response to Brazilian officials, it looks as though the program may be about to get it’s first real-world test.