The closure was an apparent result of the ongoing legal battle between Elon Musk and Brazil’s Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes. | Photo credit: AP
“Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) Shutting down its local operations “It has been shut down in Brazil after a bitter legal battle over the platform’s rights and responsibilities,” owner Elon Musk said on Saturday (August 17, 2024).
This service will be available to users in Brazil.
The settlement was the apparent culmination of an ongoing legal battle between Mr. Musk and Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who said he was trying to fight the spread of dangerous misinformation online.
A post from X’s global government affairs department on Saturday (August 17, 2024) said Mr Moraes had “threatened our legal representative in Brazil with arrest if we do not comply with his censorship orders.”
It said the closure of the office was necessary “for the safety of our employees,” adding that “the responsibility lies entirely with Alexandre de Moraes.”
The Brazilian government has criticized X’s stance, with Secretary for Digital Policies João Brant writing on the forum that the company has a “pathetic attitude”.
He added that X could “potentially make the situation worse, which could lead to the platform being blocked.”
Moraes previously ordered the suspension of several Twitter accounts suspected of spreading misinformation, including those belonging to supporters of right-wing former President Jair Bolsonaro who sought to discredit the voting system in the 2022 presidential election, which he lost.
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Mr. Moraes has said, “Freedom of expression does not mean freedom to aggression. It does not mean freedom to defend tyranny.”
Mr. Moraes has led the fight against misinformation in South America’s largest nation.
He is the president of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), and last year it declared Bolsonaro ineligible to run for re-election, saying he had spread misinformation about the electoral system.
Musk and other critics have said Mr. Moraes is part of a broader crackdown on free expression.
The CEO said on Saturday (August 17, 2024) that if X had followed Mr. Moraes’ orders, “we would have had no way to explain without being embarrassed by our actions.”
In April, Mr. Moraes ordered an investigation into Musk. AFP Moraes accused Musk of “criminal use” of the platform.
Mr. Moraes said Musk had reactivated the banned accounts, and he threatened the billionaire with fines of about $20,000 for each case. “Social networks are not without laws,” Mr. Moraes wrote.
Musk responded that although X might lose revenue in Brazil, “principles matter more than profits.”