Elon Musk challenges Brazilian judge over order to block X accounts

Moraes, who also heads Brazil’s top election court, has spearheaded a crackdown on fake news, hate speech and incitement in Latin America’s largest nation, citing disinformation as a singular threat to its democracy. Caught in the dragnet are influencers and politicians on the political right who call his actions partisan and a curb on freedom of expression.

Before Musk pledged to defy the judge’s order, X’s global government affairs team said the company has been “forced” by the court to block some accounts in Brazil. “We are threatened with daily fines if we fail to comply,” the statement added. It wasn’t immediately known which accounts were affected and why, though previous takedown orders have targeted accounts allegedly carrying fake news and hate speech.

Musk, in response to a user about compliance, said later that the company would reinstate the affected accounts even at the risk of losing business.

“We are lifting all restrictions. This judge has applied massive fines, threatened to arrest our employees and cut off access to X in Brazil,” Musk wrote on the platform. “As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there.”

In other posts, Musk encouraged users in Brazil to use a virtual private network (VPN) app for continued access to the social media platform and called the court’s demands the “most draconian” of any country.

Musk also promised to publish details of how the order violates Brazilian law. “This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached,” Musk wrote.

X’s content-moderation apparatus has been significantly weakened since Musk took over the platform in October 2022, firing or accepting resignations of three-fourths of the company’s employees. In some instances, Musk has promoted far-right conspiracy theories that have been debunked by news organizations.

He has also previously said his platform has a “responsibility to adhere to the law,” adding in a March interview with Don Lemon that if a post is illegal, “we’re going to take it down.”

Brazil, the fourth-largest market for X with nearly 20 million users, has struggled to contain the rapid rise of misinformation that has fueled violence.

In the lead-up to Brazil’s presidential election in October 2022, misinformation flooded social media platforms, The Washington Post reported, with calls to “Stop the Steal” and for a military coup should far-right President Jair Bolsonaro lose the election. Moraes had then ordered social media platforms to block dozens of accounts that he alleged carried lies and incited hate.

In January 2023, thousands of supporters of Bolsonaro, inflamed by rhetoric and clinging to unfounded claims of fraud, laid siege to the country’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential office, days after the inauguration of leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In the aftermath of the violence, the new administration promised steps to tackle far-right misinformation.

Over the weekend, right-wing political leaders in Brazil cheered Musk for taking on Moraes.

Musk had “more courage to defend democracy” than the Brazilian Senate, wrote congressman Carlos Jordy, an opposition leader under investigation over the attacks on government buildings. Nikolas Ferreira, another Bolsonaro ally who has previously had his account barred, called Musk “unstoppable.”

Social media regulation is an “urgent” matter for the country, Brazil’s attorney general, Jorge Messias, said on X, taking aim at Musk.

“We cannot live in a society in which billionaires domiciled abroad have control of social networks and put themselves in a position to violate the rule of law, failing to comply with court orders and threatening our authorities. Social peace is non-negotiable,” he wrote on X.

Ana Vanessa Herrero contributed to this report.