Why Elon Musk’ X announced it will shut down operations in Brazil

The same judge earlier included Musk in an investigation into the spread of fake news in Brazil and accused him of obstructing proceedings. In response, Musk accused the judge of betraying Brazil’s constitution and its people and issued an extraordinary call for him to be sacked. Here’s what happened.

What prompted X operations’ closure in Brazil?

In its post, the Global Government Affairs account shared photos of a legal document, claiming it was the “secret order” from the judge. It reportedly ordered a daily fine of 20,000 reais ($3,653) and said an arrest decree against X representative Rachel Nova Conceicao would be imposed if the platform did not fully comply with Moraes’ orders.

“Despite our numerous appeals to the Supreme Court not being heard… and our Brazilian staff having no responsibility or control over whether content is blocked on our platform, Moraes has chosen to threaten our staff in Brazil rather than respect the law or due process,” the post said.

What did the Brazilian Supreme Court ask of X?

Brazil’s Supreme Court did not confirm or deny the order’s authenticity to Reuters. However, this is not the first time it has pulled up X.

The Supreme Court has been looking into the spread of fake news and online disinformation, which is false information deliberately shared with malicious intent. Their impact on politics, through mediums like WhatsApp and YouTube, has been a concern for years in Brazil. Concerning this, Justice de Moraes ordered some X accounts to be blocked.

What was the response from X?

X’s Government Affairs account said on April 7 that the court forced it to block “certain popular accounts in Brazil” and the reason for it was unknown.

Musk then made clear his intention to disobey the order on the same day. In a post, he said, “This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached. Shame @Alexandre, shame.”

The next day, he referred to the judge’s order as “the most draconian demands of any country on Earth!” He has since made multiple posts against de Moraes. He shared an X user’s post which claimed that “Brazil is engaged in a sweeping crackdown on free speech led by a Supreme Court justice named Alexandre de Moraes.”

The user claimed de Moraes has “required the censorship of specific posts, without giving users any right of appeal or even the right to see the evidence presented against them.”

On August 17, Musk posted, “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.”

What did Brazil’s SC hold?

Justice Alexandre de Moraes said on April 7 that Musk was waging a “disinformation campaign” on the court’s actions.

He referenced Musk’s actions in his order, saying, “The flagrant conduct of obstruction of Brazilian justice, incitement of crime, the public threat of disobedience of court orders and future lack of cooperation from the platform are facts that disrespect the sovereignty of Brazil.”

According to the Associated Press, which cited the text of the judgment, “Musk will be investigated for alleged intentional criminal instrumentalisation of X as part of an investigation into a network of people known as digital militias who allegedly spread defamatory fake news and threats against Supreme Court justices”.

Who is Judge Alexandre de Moraes?

De Moraes oversaw the case against former Brazilian President and right-wing politician Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), over the January 8, 2023 riots in Brasilia. Bolsonaro’s supporters entered government buildings and attacked them, a week after current socialist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sworn in after winning the 2022 elections.

Many right-wing Brazilians see de Moraes as a biased judge. He earlier instructed the blocking of right-wing social media accounts over the January riots.

In 2020, de Moraes ordered Facebook and Twitter (not owned by Musk then) to block accounts spreading illegal content. While they agreed, the accounts were accessible if a user changed their app settings to a foreign location. The judge demanded a total block, which Facebook challenged.

In 2022, de Moraes banned the secure messaging app Telegram temporarily for not complying with an investigation into neo-Nazi chat groups. However, a federal court later lifted the restriction, saying a total ban was “not reasonable” given its impact on the freedom of communication for other users, DW reported.

President da Silva’s government has supported the judge. Solicitor General Jorge Messias earlier said in a post on X, “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.”

Why Musk refused to accept the order

Musk has claimed to be a “free speech absolutist”, saying governments instructing blocking of accounts infringes on people’s rights. But X has complied with some government requests earlier, as did Twitter.

In February 2024, X posted that the Indian government “issued executive orders requiring X to act on specific accounts and posts, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment.” While it said it would comply with the orders, it disagreed with these actions, maintaining that “freedom of expression should extend to these posts.”

Musk was also accused of silencing his critics on his platform when the accounts of several journalists were suspended in January. Many claimed that the details of the grounds of suspension were not provided to them.