Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has announced that it would be shutting down its operations in Brazil due to what it described as “censorship orders” issued by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
X claims that Moraes secretly threatened one of the company’s legal representatives, Rachel Nova Conceicao, with arrest if the platform did not comply with legal orders to remove certain content. The company also released images of a document, allegedly signed by Moraes, which outlined penalties including a daily fine of 20,000 reais ($3,653) and the arrest of Conceicao if X failed to adhere to the judge’s orders.
Last Saturday, the platform stated, “To protect the safety of our staff, we have made the decision to close our operation in Brazil, effective immediately.”
Brazil’s Supreme Court, where Moraes serves as a justice, declined to comment on the matter and did not confirm or deny the authenticity of the document shared by X. Despite the shutdown of operations, X’s service remains accessible to users in Brazil, the company confirmed on Saturday.
Moraes has been at odds with X for some time. Earlier this year, the judge ordered the platform to block certain accounts as part of an investigation into “digital militias” accused of spreading fake news and hate speech during the tenure of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. Owner of X, Elon Musk, has criticised Moraes’ rulings, calling them “unconstitutional,” and has clashed with the judge over reactivating accounts that had been ordered blocked.
After initially resisting Moraes’ orders, X eventually reversed course and told Brazil’s Supreme Court that it would comply with the legal decisions. In April, X’s legal team in Brazil attributed the continued activity of some blocked users to “operational faults” after Moraes had demanded an explanation for the platform’s incomplete compliance.
In response to the latest developments, Musk took to X on Saturday, labeling Moraes “an utter disgrace to justice” and condemning what he described as the judge’s “secret censorship and private information handover demands.”
