Elon Musk's X Suspends Operations in Brazil over Supreme Court Orders
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Elon Musk's social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has suspended its operations in Brazil, citing alleged censorship orders from the Brazilian Supreme Court as the reason for its decision.
X announced on Saturday that it has halted its operations in Brazil following a series of alleged censorship orders from the Brazilian Supreme Court, which the company refused to comply with, according to RT.
Earlier this year, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of several accounts reportedly linked to supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who have been accused of spreading disinformation about the court.
Elon Musk, who acquired Twitter in October 2022 and rebranded it as X, criticized the ruling, calling it "the most draconian demands of any country on Earth" and demanded the resignation of Justice Moraes.
In a statement released by X's Global Government Affairs team, the company claimed that Justice Moraes had secretly threatened to arrest its legal representative, Rachel Nova Conceição, if the company did not comply with the court's orders.
The statement also included an image of a document purportedly signed by Moraes, which indicated an arrest warrant would be issued against Conceição along with a daily fine of 20,000 Brazilian reals ($3,650).
"Moraes has chosen to threaten our staff in Brazil rather than respect the law or due process," the statement read. "As a result, to protect the safety of our staff, we have made the decision to close our operations in Brazil, effective immediately," placing the blame "solely" on Justice Moraes.
Despite the suspension of operations, X clarified that its services would remain accessible to users in Brazil.
Elon Musk echoed the statement on X, condemning Moraes as an "utter disgrace to justice" and asserting that the court's orders "would require us to break (in secret) Brazilian, Argentinian, American, and international law." Musk later explained that the decision to close the office was prompted by "secret censorship and private information handover demands."
The Brazilian Supreme Court declined to comment on the situation, neither confirming nor denying the authenticity of the document presented by X. Justice Moraes has previously warned social media platforms against "disobeying judicial orders," emphasizing that "social networks are not lands without laws."