X has recently announced that they will be closing their Brazil offices. This comes after an intense legal confrontation with Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. For months, Musk has openly disputed with de Moraes regarding the handling of content on X: there were accusations from de Moraes that X is becoming a place for hate speech and misinformation. Recently, de Moraes issued a legal order, which included a threat to arrest X’s legal representative in Brazil unless certain content was removed from the platform. Musk retaliated by accusing Brazilian authorities of censorship after de Moraes threatened legal action against X’s representatives in the country.
X’s closing their offices in Brazil was not a decision taken lightly because according to Musk, the company was faced with a “secret order” that would have compromised its stance on free speech. This order, which X made public, detailed threats against its legal team and demanded the removal of certain content under penalty of arrest and fines.
Does This Mean X Will No Longer Be Available?
Even though X announced the office closure in Brazil, X will continue to be accessible to users in the country, where they can still use the platform, except without local operational support. On their Global Government Affairs X account, they shared:
“Last night, Alexandre de Moraes threatened our legal representative in Brazil with arrest if we do not comply with his censorship orders. He did so in a secret order, which we share here 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.”
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“As a result, to protect the safety of our staff, we have made the decision to close our operation in Brazil, effective immediately.
“The X service remains available to the people of Brazil. We are deeply saddened that we have been forced to make this decision. 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.”
The Trend Around The World On X’s Policies
This incident speaks to a larger conflict between Musk and different global authorities where the regulation of content on X is involved. Authorities in other countries, such as members of the European Union and a few of the Latin American nations, are also highly concerned about the platform’s policies under Musk’s leadership, especially when it comes to aspects like moderating content.
Just recently, X filed an antitrust lawsuit against major advertisers including the World Federation of Advertisers and Unilever, claiming they unlawfully boycotted the platform. This action, X argues, led to substantial financial losses. Advertisers pulled back their support largely because they were worried about their brands’ association with harmful content, a concern that has grown since Musk’s takeover altered the platform’s content moderation policies.