Elon Musk’s X shuts operations in Brazil amid bitter dispute with judge

Social media platform X said it would close its operations in Brazil “effective immediately” due to what it called “censorship orders”.

The service will however remain available to Brazilian users.

The closure surrounds the apparent culmination of an ongoing legal battle between South African born X owner Elon Musk and Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who has said he is trying to fight the spread of dangerous disinformation online.

Brazil X office

Musk in a post on X said the decision to close the X office in Brazil was difficult.

“But, if we had agreed to Alexandre de Morae’s (illegal) secret censorship and private information handover demands, there was no way we could explain our actions without being ashamed.”

The decision to close the 𝕏 office in Brazil was difficult, but, if we had agreed to @alexandre’s (illegal) secret censorship and private information handover demands, there was no way we could explain our actions without being ashamed.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2024

The Brazilian government was critical of X’s stance, with Secretary of Digital Policies Joao Brant writing on the platform that the company had a “pathetic attitude”, according to AFP.

Brant added that X would force a “probable escalation that could lead to blocking of the platform”.

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Disinformation

Moraes previously had ordered the suspension of several Twitter accounts suspected of spreading disinformation, including those of supporters of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who tried to discredit the voting system in the 2022 presidential election, which he lost.

“Freedom of expression doesn’t mean freedom of aggression,” Moraes has said. “It doesn’t mean the freedom to defend tyranny.”

Moraes, who presides over Brazil’s Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), has spearheaded the battle against disinformation in South America’s largest nation.

Investigation

In April, Moraes ordered an investigation of Musk. An order seen by AFP showed Moraes accusing Musk of “criminal instrumentalisation” of the platform.

Moraes said Musk had reactivated banned accounts, and he threatened the billionaire with a fine of about $20 000 (about R350 000) for each instance.

“Social networks are not lands without laws,” Moraes wrote.

Musk responded that while X might lose its Brazilian revenue, “principles matter more than profit”.

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