On Saturday, social media giant X announced its decision to close operations in Brazil immediately. Billionaire Elon Musk owns the platform. X cited “censorship orders” from Justice Alexandre de Moraes as the cause.
X claimed Moraes secretly threatened to arrest one of its legal representatives. The representative was Rachel Nova Conceição. Moraes ordered the platform to remove specific content. X also shared documents, allegedly signed by Moraes. The documents stated a daily fine of 20,000 reais ($3,653) would be imposed. This would happen if the company did not follow the directives. The Brazilian Supreme Court declined to comment on the authenticity of these documents.
Despite the shutdown of its operations, the X service remains available to users in Brazil, the company confirmed. Musk expressed strong disapproval of Moraes, labeling him an “utter disgrace to justice” in posts on the platform. He argued that X could not accept the judge’s demands for “secret censorship” and the handover of private user information.
Earlier this year, Moraes ordered X to block accounts associated with “digital militias.” These accounts were accused of spreading fake news and hate speech during the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro. Musk initially challenged these rulings, calling them unconstitutional. However, X’s representatives later assured the Supreme Court that they would comply with the legal orders.
The conflict between the platform and the Brazilian justice system highlights ongoing tensions over free speech, legal compliance, and censorship.
