Washington —
Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, will close its local operations in Brazil following a legal battle over the platform’s rights and liabilities, owner Elon Musk announced on Saturday.
The service will continue to be available to users in Brazil.
The shutdown is seen as the culmination of an ongoing legal battle between Musk and Brazil’s Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who says he is trying to combat the spread of dangerous misinformation online.
According to a post on Saturday from X’s international government affairs division, Moraes “threatened to arrest his legal representative in Brazil if the censorship order was not complied with.”
The company said the closure was necessary “to ensure the safety of its staff”, adding that “the responsibility lies solely with Alexandre de Moraes”.
“Pathetic attitude”
The Brazilian government criticized X’s stance, with Digital Policy Minister João Brando calling out the company’s “pathetic attitude” on the platform.
He added that X would force “escalation that may lead to the blocking of the platform.”
FILE – Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes listens to a hearing in Brasilia, Brazil, June 18, 2024.
Moraes had previously ordered the suspension of several Twitter accounts suspected of spreading disinformation, including those belonging to supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, who sought to discredit the voting system in the 2022 presidential election.
“Freedom of expression does not mean freedom of aggression,” Moraes said. “It does not mean the freedom to defend tyranny.”
Moraes has been at the forefront of the fight against disinformation in South America’s largest country.
He is the president of Brazil’s High Electoral Court, which last year ruled Bolsonaro ineligible to run for re-election after finding he had spread false information about the country’s electoral system.
“Principles are more important than profits”
Musk and other critics say Moraes is part of a sweeping crackdown on free speech.
FILE – X’s Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference & Exhibition in Washington, March 9, 2020.
The CEO said on Saturday that if X had followed Moraes’ orders, “we would not be able to explain our actions without embarrassment.”
Moraes ordered an investigation into Musk in April, with the order seen by Agence France-Presse accusing him of “criminal use” of the platform.
Moraes said Musk had reactivated accounts that had been banned, and threatened the billionaire with fines of around $20,000 each time he did so.
“Social networks are not lawless worlds,” Moraes writes.
Musk responded that X might lose revenue in Brazil, but “principles are more important than profits.”