X closes Brazil office, citing judge’s ‘censorship orders’

Social media platform X has decided to shut down its office in Brazil after a judge threatened to arrest one of the company’s legal representatives in a censorship dispute.

The decision comes one day after what the company called a “secret order” from Supreme Federal Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, which it shared in a post to “expose his actions.”

“Despite our numerous appeals to the Supreme Court not being heard, the Brazilian public not being informed about these orders and our Brazilian staff having no responsibility or control over whether content is blocked on our platform, Moraes has chosen to threaten our staff in Brazil rather than respect the law or due process,” the X Global Governmental Affairs account posted.

In a follow-up post, X shared a watermarked court order in which de Moraes allegedly demanded the arrest of X representative Rachel Nova Conceicao and daily fines of about $3,650 in lieu of full compliance with the order.

The judge had been investigating “digital militias” accused of spreading misinformation and hate speech on the platform during former President Jair Bolsonaro’s tenure, according to Reuters. He also opened an inquiry into X owner Elon Musk, who said he would reactivate accounts de Moraes had ordered blocked as part of that investigation.

The platform, formerly known as Twitter, will still be accessible to users in the country.

“We are deeply saddened that we have been forced to make this decision,” the company posted. “The responsibility lies solely with Alexandre de Moraes. His actions are incompatible with democratic government. The people of Brazil have a choice to make – democracy, or Alexandre de Moraes.”

Musk called the decision a difficult one, “but, if we had agreed to @alexandre’s (illegal) secret censorship and private information handover demands, there was no way we could explain our actions without being ashamed.”

In separate posts, Musk called de Moraes an “utter disgrace to justice” and compared him to Harry Potter villain Voldemort, saying, “The resemblance is uncanny.”

X also faced a legal threat from the European Union earlier in the week, as Thierry Breton, the commissioner for the internal market, warned Musk ahead of his interview with former President Donald Trump that he could face repercussions if the platform did not keep hate speech and disinformation in check.