Elon Musk’s X shuts down operations in Brazil amid legal battle

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Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, is shutting down its operations in Brazil.

The company wrote in a tweet over the weekend that this drastic move follows a contentious legal battle with Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who allegedly issued a “secret order” to arrest X’s legal representative if the company did not comply with his censorship demands.

Despite claiming to cease operations, X is still accessible to users in Brazil at the time of this writing. But as the New York TImes points out, it seems like the company is closing its Brazil office vs. shutting down the entire platform in the South American country.

Last night, Alexandre de Moraes threatened our legal representative in Brazil with arrest if we do not comply with his censorship orders. He did so in a secret order, which we share here to expose his actions.

Despite our numerous appeals to the Supreme Court not being heard,… pic.twitter.com/Pm2ovyydhE

— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) August 17, 2024

The conflict began in April when Justice de Moraes initiated an investigation into X after the platform reactivated accounts it had previously been ordered to block. The platform quickly reversed its decision, but tensions escalated, reports Business Insider.

Musk’s decision to close the Brazilian office directly responds to what he claims are unacceptable demands from Justice de Moraes. The judge allegedly threatened to impose fines of 100,000 reais ($19,774) per day for any account X reactivated and even threatened legal representatives with arrest.

This move by X underscores the ongoing friction between Musk and Brazilian authorities, highlighting the challenges global tech companies face when navigating local regulations and censorship orders.

Overall, while X’s operations in Brazil have ceased, the platform remains available to users, showing Musk’s defiance against what he perceives as the Brazilian judiciary’s overreaching censorship.

What are your thoughts on X’s decision to cease operations in Brazil amid the legal battle with Justice de Moraes? We’d love to hear your views! Please leave a comment below or join the conversation on our Facebook or Twitter!

Editors’ Recommendations:

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Kevin Raposo

Kevin is KnowTechie's founder and executive editor. With over 15 years of blogging experience in the tech industry, Kevin has transformed what was once a passion project into a full-blown tech news publication. Shoot him an email at kevin@knowtechie.com or find him on Mastodon or Post.