Elon Musk made an announcement on Saturday that social media platform X will cease its operations in Brazil “immediately” due to a “censorship order” issued by Brazilian Judge Alexandre de Moraes.
X claimed that Moraes privately threatened one of its legal representatives in Brazil with arrest if they did not comply with a legal order to remove certain content from the platform. Brazil’s Supreme Court, where Moraes presides, did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
At the request of “justice” @Alexandre They have no choice but to close their local operations in Brazil, as this would require them (secretly) violating Brazilian, Argentine, U.S. and international law.
He is an utter disgrace to justice. https://t.co/yAvX1TpuRp
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2024
Earlier this year, Moraes investigated alleged “digital militias” that spread misinformation and hateful messages during the tenure of former President Jair Bolsonaro, and directed X to block specific accounts.
Moraes initiated an investigation into Musk earlier this year after Musk expressed intent to reactivate his X account following a judicial order to block it. Musk has criticized Moraes’ decision regarding X as “unconstitutional.”
After Musk’s objection, X representatives changed course, informing Brazil’s Supreme Court that the social media giant would adhere to the legal mandate.
In April, X’s legal representatives in Brazil informed the Supreme Court that “operational deficiencies” had allowed blocked users to continue their activities on the platform after Moraes requested an explanation as to why the decision was not fully implemented.
Source: www.theguardian.com
