Elon Musk's X faces $191Mln compensation demand in Brazil

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
20 Apr 2024 19:54
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The Public Defender's Office said that the social media platform previously known as Twitter is responsible for 1 billion real ($191 million) to Brazil in damages for "collective moral and social" harm.

Elon Musk arrives at the tenth Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on Saturday, April 13, 2024, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. (AP)

Brazilian media reports on Saturday reported that a government watchdog has requested the Supreme Federal Court to have Elon Musk's X social media platform pay $191 million in compensation.

According to Brazil's G1 news website, the Public Defender's Office said that the social media platform previously known as Twitter is responsible for 1 billion real ($191 million) to Brazil in damages for "collective moral and social" harm.

A week ago, Musk condemned the Brazilian court for what he deemed an excessive exercise of judicial authority after Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes instructed X to restrict specific accounts accused of disseminating false information.

Musk alleges that Brazilian authorities have issued threats to completely sever X from Brazil, detain its employees, and impose a daily fine of $20,000. In addition, the US House of Representatives has initiated an inquiry, requesting X to disclose information regarding any actions taken in Brazil that may have contravened local laws.

The law broke the law https://t.co/JM31Q2gu4f
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 18, 2024

In January 2023, a report by the Washington Post revealed that the number of fake accounts spreading news about Brazilian election fraud skyrocketed on Twitter in the months following President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's win in the presidential election.

The newspaper noted that the fake accounts mostly claimed that the election results were fraudulent and that the loss of former President Jair Bolsonaro in the presidential election was fake.

According to an Israeli analytics firm, Cyabra, which was hired by Twitter CEO, Elon Musk, the results "suggest a major uptick in suspected bot activity online since Lula’s October win in Brazil."

The Washington Post pointed out that the report was shared with The Technology 202, and researchers estimated that the percentage of Twitter accounts believed to be “inauthentic” increased 5-fold between October and January, reaching an estimated 20% of accounts questioning the Brazilian elections.

The Washington Post revealed that the firm "scanned nearly 10,000 profiles mentioning the Brazilian election since September across Twitter and Facebook, finding similar but less pronounced trends on the latter."