Brazil judge orders shutdown of X social network; Elon Musk furious

Musk has been locked in a months-long feud with the judge, Alexandre de Moraes, who is leading a battle against disinformation in South America’s largest nation.

Moraes ordered the “immediate, complete and comprehensive suspension of the operation of ‘X Brasil Internet LTDA’ in the national territory.”

He ordered the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to “adopt all necessary measures to implement” the order within 24 hours.

He also asked Google, Apple, and internet providers to “introduce technological obstacles capable of preventing the use of the X application” and access to the website.

The social media platform formally known as Twitter has more than 22 million users in Brazil.

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Musk, who also owns Tesla and SpaceX, reacted with fury, branding 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, who has become increasingly aligned with right-wing politics, wrote on X.

Musk shut X’s business operations in Brazil earlier this month, claiming Moraes had threatened the company’s previous legal representative with arrest to force compliance with “censorship orders.”

On Wednesday, Moraes told Musk “to appoint the company’s new legal representative in Brazil within 24 hours” or face suspension.

The South African-born Tesla boss fired off tweets calling Moraes an “evil dictator cosplaying as a judge” and accusing him of “trying to destroy democracy in Brazil.”

“Soon, we expect Judge Alexandre de Moraes will order X to be shut down in Brazil – simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents,” X said in a statement shortly after the passing of a 24-hour deadline.

– ‘Who does Musk think he is?’-
The standoff 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 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 Inacio 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 of Musk, accusing him of reactivating some of the banned accounts on the network formerly known as Twitter.

Musk and other critics accuse Moraes of stifling free speech.

“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?”

Starlink finances frozen
On Thursday, Musk’s satellite internet operator Starlink said it had received an order from Moraes that “freezes Starlink’s finances and prevents Starlink from conducting financial transactions” in the country.

Starlink, which operates in Brazil, particularly in the Amazon, alleged that the order “is based on an unfounded determination that Starlink should be responsible for the fines levied — unconstitutionally — against X.”

The company said 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 those close to him.

The proliferation and amplification of misinformation and conspiracy theories on social media have sparked debate over the need for content moderation and a balance between calling out falsehoods and veering towards censorship or curbing free speech.