Elon Musk announced on Saturday the immediate closure of X’s operations in Brazil, citing threats from Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. According to Musk, the judge allegedly threatened to arrest the company’s legal representative if X did not comply with censorship orders.
Musk voiced his frustration on social media, stating, “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. He is an utter disgrace to justice.”
X’s Global Government Affairs page provided further details, claiming that Justice de Moraes issued a secret order threatening arrest if the platform failed to comply with his censorship demands.
The company expressed its concerns, stating, “Despite our numerous appeals to the Supreme Court not being heard, the Brazilian public not being informed about these orders, and our Brazilian staff having no responsibility or control over whether content is blocked on our platform, Moraes has chosen to threaten our staff in Brazil rather than respect the law or due process.”
This development comes after a series of legal battles between Musk and Justice de Moraes concerning X’s operations in Brazil. The judge had previously ordered the platform to block certain accounts as part of an investigation into “digital militias” accused of spreading misinformation during former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration. Musk had openly criticized de Moraes’s actions, calling them unconstitutional.
Despite the shutdown of local operations, X will remain accessible to users in Brazil. The decision has sparked a broader debate about free speech and the obligations of social media platforms to comply with national laws.
Musk’s move to cease operations in Brazil is seen as a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict between tech companies and government authorities over content moderation and censorship.
