Billionaire X owner Elon Musk has suggested he will avoid traveling to countries where freedom of speech is not strictly protected, following the controversial arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France.
Musk, who called for Durov's release after the Russian-born billionaire was handcuffed over the weekend on suspicion of facilitating illegal activity on Telegram, has himself clashed with authorities in Brazil and the European Union over content moderation on X.
“It would be wise to restrict travel to countries where freedom of speech is constitutionally protected.” Musk said in a post on X on Thursday night..
Durov's arrest has sparked a global debate about freedom of speech online, with Musk arguing that his detention in Paris was a sign of “dangerous times.”
Some have raised the question of whether Musk and other prominent social media executives, such as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, could similarly be held personally liable for content they publish on their companies' apps.
X said on Thursday night that it expected Brazilian authorities to forcefully shut down the platform “soon” following the spat between Musk and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Brazil has frozen bank accounts used by Musk's satellite internet company, Starlink.
The dispute intensified earlier this month when Company X withdrew its legal representatives from Brazil after a judge threatened them with arrest.
Brazilian law requires social media companies to have local representatives to respond to government requests to remove content.
X claims that Moraes is trying to censor his political opponents.
“We have never advocated that other countries should have the same free speech laws as the United States,” the company said in a lengthy statement. “The fundamental issue at stake here is that Judge de Moraes is asking us to break Brazilian law, which we will never do.”
Meanwhile, a top European Union official, who is investigating X's content moderation practices which could lead to huge fines, warned Musk earlier this month against spreading “potentially harmful content” ahead of his interview with Donald Trump.
The warning has caused an uproar in the US, with some accusing the EU of meddling in the upcoming presidential election.
French prosecutors have charged Durov with a string of offences relating to terrorism, drugs, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen property and child pornography, and claim he has been uncooperative in their investigation into criminal activity carried out on Telegram.
French President Emmanuel Macron hit back at the criticism, declaring that Durov's arrest was not politically motivated and that France values freedom of speech.
