Musk’s Fury as Judge Shuts Down X in Brazil

AFP/APP

Brasília: A Supreme Court judge on Friday ordered the suspension of Elon Musk’s X social media network in Brazil, following a months-long standoff over disinformation in South America’s largest nation.

The judge, Alexandre de Moraes, issued the ruling after Musk failed to comply with an order to appoint a new legal representative for the company. Musk, who also owns Tesla and SpaceX, reacted with fury, calling Moraes an “evil dictator cosplaying as a judge” and accusing him of “trying to destroy democracy in Brazil.”

“Free speech is the bedrock of democracy, and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes,” the billionaire wrote on X.

The two have been embroiled in a high-profile feud for months, as Moraes leads a campaign against disinformation in Brazil. Musk, who has previously declared himself a “free speech absolutist,” has faced accusations of turning the platform, formerly known as Twitter, into a megaphone for right-wing conspiracy theories since taking over in 2022.

Moraes ordered the “immediate, complete and comprehensive suspension” of X in Brazil, instructing the national communications agency to take “all necessary measures” to implement the order within 24 hours. He also directed Google, Apple, and internet providers to “introduce technological obstacles capable of preventing the use of the X application” and access to the website.

Moraes further threatened to fine individuals 50,000 reais ($8,900) if they used “technological subterfuges” such as VPNs to bypass the block. The social media platform has more than 22 million users in Brazil.

Earlier this month, Musk shut down X’s business operations in Brazil, claiming that Moraes had threatened the company’s previous legal representative with arrest to force compliance with “censorship orders.” On Wednesday, Moraes gave Musk 24 hours to appoint a new representative or face suspension.

Shortly after the deadline passed, X released a statement predicting Moraes would shut it down “simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents.”

‘Who Does Musk Think He Is?’

The conflict with Musk began when Moraes ordered the suspension of several X accounts belonging to supporters of Brazil’s former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who had tried to discredit the voting system in the 2022 election, which he lost. Brazilian authorities are investigating whether Bolsonaro plotted a coup attempt to prevent current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from assuming office in January 2023.

Online users blocked by Moraes include figures like far-right ex-congressman Daniel Silveira, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2022 on charges of leading a movement to overthrow the Supreme Court. In April, Moraes ordered an investigation into Musk, accusing him of reactivating some of the banned accounts.

On Thursday, Musk’s satellite internet operator Starlink reported that it had received an order from Moraes freezing its accounts and preventing it from conducting financial transactions in Brazil. Starlink alleged that the order “is based on an unfounded determination that Starlink should be responsible for the fines levied—unconstitutionally—against X.” The company stated on X that it intended “to address the matter legally.”

Musk is also the subject of a separate judicial investigation into an alleged scheme where public money was used to orchestrate disinformation campaigns in favor of Bolsonaro and his allies.

“Any citizen from anywhere in the world who has investments in Brazil is subject to the Brazilian Constitution and laws,” Lula told a local radio station on Friday. “Who does (Musk) think he is?”