Social media platform X is reportedly planning to close its offices in Brazil amid a legal battle with the South American country’s highest court over a secret order to remove some posts from its Brazilian site. A statement posted by the company on X.
The social media site will remain available to users in Brazil.
“The decision to close our offices in Brazil was difficult, but if Alexandre“In the face of (illegal) covert censorship and requests to hand over personal information, we have been unable to explain our actions without embarrassment,” Musk wrote to X.
X I posted a screenshot The move comes at the behest of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has been investigating digital militias accused of spreading fake news and hate messages under the government of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro.
As part of the order, Moraes said he would impose fines of $3,650 a day and an arrest warrant on X’s president, Rachel Nova Conceição, if the platforms did not comply.
“Last night, Alexandre de Moraes threatened our legal representative in Brazil with arrest if he did not comply with a censorship order. He did so with a secret order, but we are sharing it here to expose his actions,” the company wrote to X.
“Despite our multiple appeals to the Supreme Court going unheard, the Brazilian public not being informed of these orders, and our Brazilian staff having no responsibility or control over whether content is blocked on our platform, Mr Moraes has chosen to intimidate our Brazilian staff rather than respect the law and due process,” they added.
The company said it was “deeply saddened” to have been “coerced” into doing so, but added that responsibility “lies solely with Mr. Alexandre de Moraes.”
Earlier this year, Moraes instructed X to block some of those accounts. X complied, after which Musk said he would re-open the X accounts that the judge had ordered blocked. It is called Moraes’ decision regarding X is “unconstitutional.”
Following Musk’s remarks, a representative for X said: Reversed Of course, we have told the Brazilian Supreme Court that we will comply with the legal decision.
Brazil’s Supreme Court declined to comment to Reuters about Mr X’s allegations and would not confirm the authenticity of the images posted by the social media companies.
Following the decision to shut down X’s Brazilian operations, Musk also posted on X that Moraes “needs to go.”
“There is no question that Moraes needs to step down,” Musk wrote. “The existence of a ‘judge’ who repeatedly and flagrantly violates the law is simply not justice.”
Nicolas Ferreira, a member of Brazil’s lower house of parliament and a prominent right-wing politician on social media, said Brazil would “take to the streets” to demand Moraes’ impeachment.
“On September 7, Brazilians will take to the streets of Sao Paulo to demand the impeachment of Alexandre de Moraes,” he said. I wrote it. “Elon Muskyou are invited.
Musk retweeted Ferreira’s post.
