Elon Musk's X refuses to comply with Brazilian Supreme Court orders
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The social media platform rejects Brazil's Supreme Court orders to name a legal representative in the country.
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Elon Musk during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress on July 24, 2024. (AFP)
Elon Musk's X social media platform announced on Friday that it will not comply with "illegal orders" issued by a Brazilian court and anticipates being shut down in the country.
Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes warned US billionaire Musk on Wednesday that if he does not name a legal representative for X in the country within 24 hours, the court will suspend its operations.
This came after Musk's recent announcement that he would cease X operations in Brazil in response to what he described as the judge's "censorship orders."
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"Soon, we expect Judge Alexandre de Moraes will order X to be shut down in Brazil – simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents," X's Global Government Affairs team said on the platform.
It claimed the judge threatened X's Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment.
"When we attempted to defend ourselves in court, Judge de Moraes threatened our Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment. Even after she resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts. Our challenges against his manifestly illegal actions were either dismissed or ignored. Judge de Moraes’ colleagues on the Supreme Court are either unwilling or unable to stand up to him," the team said.
"In the days to come, we will publish all of Judge de Moraes’ illegal demands and all related court filings in the interest of transparency. Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders."
'Freedom of expression... not freedom of aggression'
Moraes has led the charge against disinformation in Brazil, where he also presides over the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE).
In April, the Supreme Court judge initiated an investigation into Musk, accusing him of “criminally instrumentalizing” X by reactivating banned accounts. He also threatened the platform's CEO with a fine of approximately $20,000 per violation.
"Social networks are not lands without laws," Moraes stated.
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The judge had also previously ordered the suspension of several accounts on Twitter accused of spreading disinformation, particularly those of supporters of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who attempted to undermine confidence in the voting system after losing the 2022 presidential election.
"Freedom of expression doesn't mean freedom of aggression," Moraes said, "It doesn't mean the freedom to defend tyranny."
