X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, has shut down its Brazilian office amidst a dispute over censorship.
According to X, Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes threatened to arrest its legal representative in Brazil unless the company adhered to his directives to censor certain content.
The Brazilian Supreme Court has yet to issue a statement regarding the matter.
Despite the closure of its Brazilian office, X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, confirmed on Saturday that its platform remains accessible to users in Brazil.
This comes after Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered X to block accounts accused of disseminating misinformation, primarily supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, pending investigation, BBC reports.
Following Musk’s criticism of the judge, Moraes imposed daily fines of 100,000 reais ($19,774; £15,670) on X for any reactivated accounts and warned of potential legal consequences for the company’s Brazilian representatives. Additionally, Musk is now under investigation for alleged obstruction of justice and other charges.
In a statement, X emphasized that its Brazilian employees have no authority or influence over content blocking decisions, yet Judge Moraes has opted to target them with threats instead of adhering to legal protocols.
It said, “As a result, to protect the safety of our staff, we have made the decision to close our operation in Brazil, effective immediately.
“The responsibility lies solely with Alexandre de Moraes.
“His actions are incompatible with democratic government.”
Musk posted on X that there was “no question that Moraes needs to leave”.
He said, “The decision to close the 𝕏 office in Brazil was difficult, but, if we had agreed to (Mr Moraes) @alexandre’s (illegal) secret censorship and private information handover demands, there was no way we could explain our actions without being ashamed.”
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