Why X says it is closing its operations in Brazil
Media platform X announced on Saturday that it will cease its activities in Brazil “with immediate effect” due to what it described as “censorship orders” from Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes.
X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, alleges that Moraes secretly threatened one of the company’s legal representatives in the South American country with arrest if the company did not comply with legal orders to remove content from its platform.
The social media giant released photos of a document Moraes reportedly signed, which states that a daily fine of 20,000 reais ($3,653) and an arrest warrant would be imposed on X representative Rachel Nova Conceicao if the platform did not fully comply with Moraes’ orders.
“To protect the safety of our staff, we have decided to close our facility in Brazil effective immediately,” X said.
Brazil’s Supreme Court, where Moraes sits, told Reuters it would not rule on the matter and would neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of the document shared by X.
The X service will remain available to the people of Brazil, the platform said on Saturday.
Earlier this year, Moraes X ordered the blocking of certain accounts as he investigates so-called “digital militias” accused of spreading fake news and hate speech during the government of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Moraes opened an investigation into the billionaire earlier this year after Musk said he would reactivate accounts on X that had been blocked by a judge. Musk has called the Moraes’ decisions regarding X “unconstitutional.”
After Musk appealed, representatives of X changed their position and informed Brazil’s Supreme Court that the social media giant would abide by the legal rulings.
Lawyers representing X in Brazil told the Supreme Court in April that “operational errors” allowed blocked users to remain active on the social media platform, after Moraes asked X to explain why the platform allegedly had not fully complied with his decisions.
Musk, in messages to X on Saturday, called Moraes an “absolute disgrace to the judiciary” and said the company had failed to comply with “judges’ demands for secret censorship and handover of private information.”
© Thomson Reuters 2024
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