– X, formerly Twitter, has announced the abrupt closure of its Brazilian office amidst an ongoing dispute between Elon Musk and Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes.
– Musk accuses Brazil of attempting to censor content on the platform, while de Moraes claims it facilitates hate speech.
– The closure follows a legal threat from de Moraes, who warned X’s representative, Rachel Nova Conceicao, of possible arrest for non-compliance with censorship orders.
– The social media platform remains accessible to Brazilian users despite the office shutdown.
– The National High Court of Brazil threatened a 20,000 reais daily fine if X did not adhere to orders removing specific content linked to far-right supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
– Musk highlighted the conflict, stating that complying with what he termed illegal orders was against their principles, even at the cost of losing revenue in Brazil.
– The back-and-forth escalation began months ago, with de Moraes urging the removal of accounts accused of spreading misinformation and threats to the judiciary, leading to an investigation into Musk.