Social media platform X announced on Saturday that it is shutting down its operations in Brazil "effective immediately," citing "censorship orders" issued by Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes. The company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, claims that Moraes secretly threatened one of its legal representatives with arrest if it failed to comply with orders to remove specific content from the platform.
X released images of a document allegedly signed by Moraes, which purportedly outlines a daily fine of 20,000 reais ($3,653) and an arrest order against X representative Rachel Nova Conceicao if the platform did not fully adhere to the judge's directives. "To protect the safety of our staff, we have made the decision to close our operation in Brazil, effective immediately," X stated.
Despite the closure of its operations, X confirmed that its service would remain accessible to users in Brazil. The country's Supreme Court, where Moraes is a justice, declined to comment on the matter and did not verify the authenticity of the document shared by X.
Earlier this year, Moraes ordered X to block certain accounts as part of his investigation into "digital militias" accused of disseminating fake news and hate speech during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Musk had publicly criticized Moraes' rulings, calling them "unconstitutional" and expressing intentions to reactivate the blocked accounts.
However, following challenges from Musk, X representatives assured Brazil's Supreme Court that the company would comply with legal rulings. In April, lawyers representing X acknowledged operational issues that had allowed some users to remain active despite being ordered blocked by Moraes.
Musk, in a series of posts on X on Saturday, denounced Moraes as an "utter disgrace to justice" and accused the judge of making "secret censorship and private information handover demands," which the company could not accept.
(Source:www.theprint.in)
X released images of a document allegedly signed by Moraes, which purportedly outlines a daily fine of 20,000 reais ($3,653) and an arrest order against X representative Rachel Nova Conceicao if the platform did not fully adhere to the judge's directives. "To protect the safety of our staff, we have made the decision to close our operation in Brazil, effective immediately," X stated.
Despite the closure of its operations, X confirmed that its service would remain accessible to users in Brazil. The country's Supreme Court, where Moraes is a justice, declined to comment on the matter and did not verify the authenticity of the document shared by X.
Earlier this year, Moraes ordered X to block certain accounts as part of his investigation into "digital militias" accused of disseminating fake news and hate speech during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Musk had publicly criticized Moraes' rulings, calling them "unconstitutional" and expressing intentions to reactivate the blocked accounts.
However, following challenges from Musk, X representatives assured Brazil's Supreme Court that the company would comply with legal rulings. In April, lawyers representing X acknowledged operational issues that had allowed some users to remain active despite being ordered blocked by Moraes.
Musk, in a series of posts on X on Saturday, denounced Moraes as an "utter disgrace to justice" and accused the judge of making "secret censorship and private information handover demands," which the company could not accept.
(Source:www.theprint.in)
