Elon Musk challenges Brazil SC’s order to block certain X accounts

Elon Musk is challenging a decision by a Supreme Court judge in Brazil who ordered his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to block certain accounts, and he called for the judge’s resignation on Sunday.

“This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the Constitution and the people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached. Shame @Alexandre, shame,” Musk wrote on X.

In an earlier message, Musk said that

“This judge has imposed massive fines, threatened to arrest our employees and cut off access to X in Brazil,” Musk posted on Saturday evening. “As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to close our office there. But principles are more important than profits.”

Musk vowed to legally challenge the order if possible.

Brazil’s Solicitor General, Jorge Messias, criticized Musk’s decision and called for regulation of social media networks to prevent foreign platforms from violating Brazilian laws.

“We cannot live in a society where billionaires living abroad control social networks and put themselves in a position to violate the rule of law, disobey court orders and threaten our authorities,” Messias said in a statement. message on X.

X Corp was “forced by court decisions” to block certain popular accounts in Brazil and was not allowed to provide details about the order or which judge issued it, the company said in a statement. It said that X was threatened with daily fines if he did not follow the rules.

Musk said the blocking order was unconstitutional.

“The people of Brazil, regardless of their political beliefs, have the right to freedom of expression, due process and transparency from their own authorities,” he wrote.

According to a spokesperson for the Supreme Court, the court has no comment on the case at this time.

Moraes, who is leading an investigation into an alleged coup attempt by former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, is one of the Supreme Court judges most active in the fight against online disinformation in Brazil.

Last year, Moraes also ordered an investigation into executives from Alphabet’s social messaging platform Telegram and Google, who led a campaign criticizing an internet regulation bill.

The bill places responsibility on internet companies, search engines and social messaging services to detect and report illegal material, rather than leaving it to the courts, and to impose stiff fines if they fail to do so.

First print: April 7, 2024 | 10:19 PM IST