Social media company X declared on Saturday that it would cease operations in Brazil, citing threats from Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to detain the company’s Brazilian attorney if they disobeyed the court’s directives.
All X employees in Brazil will be let go “effective immediately,” although the company assured customers that services would continue to be offered.
The business did not elaborate on how it might maintain service to Brazilians while claiming to have suspended operations.
The business and de Moraes had a falling out earlier this year over free speech, far-right accounts, and false information about X.
The business released a copy of the document on X and claimed that his most recent directives amounted to censorship.
In contrast to many other nations, such as Brazil, where de Moraes in April ordered an investigation into CEO Elon Musk for disseminating false information and another probe into potential obstruction, incitement, and criminal organization, the United States has a constitution that significantly more liberally defines free speech.
De Moraes has long been accused by the political far right in Brazil of going too far in suppressing free speech and engaging in political persecution.
Laptops 1000De Moraes has aggressively prosecuted individuals he believes are harming Brazil’s fledgling democracy, whether through investigations into former President Jair Bolsonaro, banning his far-right allies from social media, or ordering the arrest of supporters who seized government buildings on January 8, 2023.
The business released a statement on X stating, “Moraes has chosen to threaten our staff in Brazil rather than respect the law or due process.”
Musk, the founder of X and self-described “free speech absolutist,” asserted in a tweet on Saturday morning that de Moraes “is an utter disgrace to justice.”
