Tensions between Elon Musk and Brazil have escalated after a Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into the owner of X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday. He stated that the inquiry comes after Musk reopened accounts that Justice Alexandre de Moraes had ordered blocked in the name of free speech.
If X fails to comply with the order to block certain accounts, the company will be fined 100,000 reais ($19,740) per day, the judge said in a statement released to media.
Musk has already launched a series of attacks via X on Justice Moraes. In one Tweet, he stated, “This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached.” So far, neither Musk nor Justice Moraes or Brazilian authorities have disclosed which accounts did the Justice want blocked.
Musk had first started posting about the Brazilian court ruling on Saturday on X, but it was not clear when the ruling was first issued.
According to a Reuters report Moraes is believed to be investigating “digital militias” that have been accused of spreading fake news and hate messages during the government of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. He is also leading an investigation into an alleged coup attempt by Bolsonaro. According to a report in the Guardian, two former commanders of the Brazilian military had testified that the former president had presented military officials with a plan to carry out a coup should he lost the October 2022 election.
Musk’s Tweets also stated that “this judge has applied massive fines, threatened to arrest our employees and cut off access to X in Brazil.”
“As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there. But principles matter more than profit.”
The judge’s stand against Musk has been supported by the government. President Lula’s government has expressed support for Moraes. Solicitor General Jorge Messias has criticised Musk and called for the regulation of social media networks to prevent foreign platforms from violating Brazilian laws.
“We cannot live in a society in which billionaires domiciled abroad have control of social networks and put themselves in a position to violate the rule of law, failing to comply with court orders and threatening our authorities,” Messias said in a post on X.
According to a recent study in 2024, Brazil has the biggest population and online audience in Latin America. It is simultaneously the fifth-largest social media market worldwide, the second largest within the Americas, and by far the biggest in the Latin American subcontinent.
(With inputs from Reuters)
