‘Difficult decision to close Brazil office’, Elon Musk says if X had agreed to…
Elon Musk announced the shutdown of Brazil's X office, citing threats from Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The company accused de Moraes of censorship and political persecution.
Billionaire Elon Musk said on Saturday that it was a “difficult decision” to announce the shutdown of Brazil's X (formerly Twitter) office. In a post on the microblogging site, Musk wrote, “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,” the former X CEO wrote.
Also Read | X announces suspension of Brazil operations, alleging ‘censorship orders’ from Supreme Court justice
X shutdown in Brazil
On Saturday, social media platform X announced that it would cease its operations in Brazil, citing threats from Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to arrest its legal representative if the company failed to comply with orders.
X stated that it is withdrawing all remaining staff from Brazil "effective immediately," though it added that services will still be accessible to users in the country. The company did not explain how it plans to halt operations while continuing to offer services to Brazilians.
Earlier this year, the company had a dispute with Justice de Moraes regarding free speech, far-right accounts, and misinformation on X. The company described his recent directives as censorship and posted a copy of the order on its platform.
In the United States, free speech is a constitutional right with broader protections than in many other countries, including Brazil. In April, Justice de Moraes launched an investigation into CEO Elon Musk over the spread of defamatory fake news and another inquiry into potential obstruction, incitement, and criminal organization.
Brazil’s political rights have often accused de Moraes of exceeding his authority to suppress free speech and engage in political persecution. De Moraes has been proactive in targeting those he perceives as threats to Brazil’s democracy, whether by investigating former President Jair Bolsonaro, banning his far-right allies from social media, or ordering the arrest of those involved in the 8 January 2023, government building attacks.
“Moraes has chosen to threaten our staff in Brazil rather than respect the law or due process,” the company said in a statement on X. Musk said de Moraes “is an utter disgrace to justice.”
(With AP inputs)
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First Published:18 Aug 2024, 07:46 AM IST
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