The massive social networking platform X has decided to cease its activities in Brazil, but users in that nation will still be able to use its service.
The decision is the latest reaction from the business to moves taken by Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Brazilian Supreme Court.
In the course of his investigation into purported "digital militias" that are said to have disseminated hate speech and fake news during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro, Moraes ordered X to block specific accounts earlier this year.
The criminal investigation into people who allegedly disseminated misleading information about Brazil's election and legal system includes Elon Musk, the owner of X.
Rather than comply with de Moraes' directives, Musk stated in a statement on August 17 that shutting down X's Brazilian office was the only alternative.
“Due to demands by ‘Justice’ Alexandre in Brazil that would require us to break (in secret) Brazilian, Argentinian, American and international law, has no choice but to close our local operations in Brazil,” Musk said in the post.
“The decision to close the 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,” Musk said in a follow-up post.
X’s global government affairs account said in a statement on X on Aug. 17 that de Moraes had sent “a secret order” that threatened its legal representative in Brazil with arrest if it did not comply with his “censorship orders.”
“As a result, to protect the safety of our staff, we have made the decision to close our operation in Brazil, effective immediately,” it read. “The X service remains available to the people of Brazil.”
In particular, the Brazilian high court ordered that X erase several accounts belonging to right-wing Brazilian lawmakers, a pastor, and other Bolsonaro supporters, according to a letter released earlier this week by the same account. The court has also requested access histories for those accounts and other relevant information.
“We believe the Brazilian people should know what is being asked of us,” X said.
Earlier this year, de Moraes opened a investigation into Musk after the tech billionaire refused to lift restrictions on designated accounts. Musk then called for de Moraes to “step down or be impeached.”
Lawmakers from Bolsonaro's inner circle have been jailed and the residences of his supporters have been raided as part of the "digital militias" probe. De Moraes's detractors said he had overreached himself in suppressing unwelcome political discourse.
De Moraes' supporters argue that his rulings are both important to battle bogus news on social media and legally sound. An revolt on January 8, 2023, which has been compared to the breach of the U.S. government on January 6, 2021, serves as evidence that they view the accounts as a danger to Brazilian democracy. Capitol.
In April, Brazilian Attorney General Jorge Messias stated on X that social media networks needed to be strictly regulated in his nation.
“We cannot live in a society in which billionaires domiciled abroad have control of social networks and put themselves in a position to violate the rule of law, failing to comply with court orders and threatening our authorities,” he said. “Social peace is non-negotiable.”
