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 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.