Musk: X Will Close Its Brazil Office Over “Censorship”

Reuters reports:

Media platform X said on Saturday it would close its operations in Brazil “effective immediately” due to what it called “censorship orders” by Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes. X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, claims Moraes secretly threatened one of the company’s legal representatives in the South American country with arrest if it did not comply with legal orders to take down some content from its platform.

Earlier this year, Moraes ordered X to block certain accounts, as he investigates so-called “digital militias” that have been accused of spreading fake news and hate messages during the government of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro. After Musk’s challenges, X representatives reversed course and told Brazil’s Supreme Court that the social media giant would comply with the legal rulings.

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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 resemblance is uncanny

Alexandre de Voldemort pic.twitter.com/IXR569y2qT

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2024

No question that Moraes needs to leave. Having a “justice” who repeatedly and egregiously violates the law is no justice at all. https://t.co/9luG9oDmOU

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2024