Brazil takes steps to ban X after Musk disregards court orders to suspend certain accounts. Source: Bret Hartman via Flickr.
Social media giant X, formerly known as Twitter, have shut down operations in Brazil after the Supreme Court blocked the social network for refusing to comply with court orders to suspend specific accounts.
Elon Musk decided to shut down his offices in Brazil last week after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes threatened to make arrests for ignoring his order that he claims violates Brazilian laws.
“Due to demands by ‘Justice’ @Alexandre in Brazil that would require us to break (in secret) Brazilian, Argentinian, American and international law, X has no choice but to close our local operations in Brazil,” announced Musk on X.
“He is an utter disgrace to justice.”
Justice Moraes and Musk have been locked in a feud for months regarding legal disputes over content moderation, which Musk has resisted.
Earlier this year, Musk also had issues with content moderation from the Australian eSafety Commissioner over the banning of graphic videos depicting a violent stabbing at a Sydney church.
On Friday, Justice Moraes ordered the “immediate, complete and total suspension of X’s operations” in Brazil “until all court orders … are complied with, fines are duly paid, and a new legal representative for the company is appointed”.
In his order, Justice Moraes said Musk was an “outlaw” who planned to “allow the massive spread of disinformation, hate speech and attacks on the democratic rule of law, violating the free choice of the electorate, by keeping voters away from real and accurate information”.
Currently, X has no legal representatives in Brazil and said it would remove all employees from the country rather than face possible arrests.
Justice Moraes also ordered a daily fine of 50,000 Brazilian real ($13,000) for people and companies that use virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X in Brazil.
In addition, Justice Moraes froze the accounts of Musk’s second business in Brazil, Starlink, due to X’s unpaid bills.
Musk said he considered Justice Moraes’ orders illegal and went against freedom of speech.
“Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes,” said Musk on Friday.
Later today, Brazil’s Supreme Court will vote on whether to uphold Justice Moraes’ decision to ban X in the country.
A suspension of X in Brazil could create problems for Musk’s already struggling company. With over 171 million active social media users in Brazil, according to market research, the impact could be significant.
