Elon Musk got involved in a legal conflict with the Brazilian Supreme Court over the weekend, with the country's top court now investigating the billionaire for alleged obstruction of justice.
This is because Musk vowed to defy a court order seeking to block certain accounts found to disseminate disinformation in the country. Initially, X's account tracking relations with global government affairs said that the platform (formerly Twitter) had been "forced by court decisions to block certain popular accounts in Brazil" and taken said action.
"We do not know the reasons these blocking orders have been issued. We do not know which posts are alleged to violate the law. We are prohibited from saying which court or judge issued the order, or on what grounds. We are prohibited from saying which accounts are impacted. We are threatened with daily fines if we fail to comply," read a passage of the post.
X Corp. has been forced by court decisions to block certain popular accounts in Brazil. We have informed those accounts that we have taken this action.
— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) April 6, 2024
We do not know the reasons these blocking orders have been issued.
We do not know which posts are alleged to violate the…
However, Musk then stepped in and criticized Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes for "brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil." He added that the justice should "resign or be impeached" and vowed to reinstate all accounts and lift all restrictions.
He later added that the judge "has applied massive fines, threatened to arrest our employees and cut off access to 𝕏 in Brazil," meaning that the company ""will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there." He then instructed users in Brazil to download a VPN if X was shut down.
According to AFP, De Moraes said that Musk would face a fine equivalent to $20,000 for every account reactivated on the platform. "X shall refrain from disobeying any court order already issued, including performing any profile reactivation that has been blocked by this Supreme Court," he added.
De Moraes went on to say that Musk personally began a "disinformation campaign" regarding the court's actions. "The flagrant conduct of obstruction of Brazilian justice, incitement of crime, the public threat of disobedience of court orders and future lack of cooperation from the platform are facts that disrespect the sovereignty of Brazil," de Moraes wrote.
This aggressive censorship appears to violate the law & will of the people of Brazil https://t.co/Vuxerg2L9w
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 6, 2024
The investigation will seek to determine whether musk used the platform as a criminal tool to spread defamatory fake news and threats against Supreme Court justices. He could be charged with obstruction, criminal organization and incitement.
This is the latest chapter of a long-running investigation over such conducts in the country, particularly by members of the Brazilian right and former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Critics have said De Moraes has overstepped his bound to clamp down on free speech and engage in political persecution, while supporters assure they are necessary measures to deal with threats to Brazilian democracy.
The event that most illustrates this struggle the most is the January 8, 2023, insurrection, when supporters of Bolsonaro stormed the Brazilian capital seeking to overturn the election's results, in which he lost against now-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The effort ultimately failed.
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