Brazil on brink of banning Elon Musk’s X
Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, is on the brink of being banned in Brazil after failing to meet a court-imposed deadline to appoint a legal representative in the country. This marks a significant escalation in Musk’s ongoing feud with Alexandre de Moraes, a prominent judge in Brazil’s Supreme Court.
On Thursday, X announced via a post that it anticipated being shut down in Brazil because it refused to comply with what it called “illegal orders” from Judge de Moraes to censor political opponents. The platform’s Brazil office was closed last week, with X claiming it received a “secret order” from de Moraes demanding the removal of certain accounts. The company also revealed that after its legal representative resigned, the judge froze her bank accounts.
X criticised the judge’s actions as “manifestly illegal” and stated its intention to publish all related court orders and filings to ensure transparency.
Musk, who identifies as a free speech advocate, has repeatedly clashed with de Moraes, accusing him of censorship. Meanwhile, the judge argues that his actions are necessary to protect democracy from misinformation and hate speech, often propagated by far-right groups.
In a provocative move, Musk posted an AI-generated image of de Moraes behind bars, captioned, “One day, @Alexandre, this picture of you in prison will be real. Mark my words.” Musk also accused de Moraes of being “a criminal wearing judge’s robes like a Halloween costume.”
Musk’s attacks on de Moraes have drawn criticism from various quarters of Brazil’s political landscape. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has positioned Musk as out of touch, with Supreme Court President Luís Roberto Barroso suggesting that Musk’s defence of free speech is more about promoting a business model based on hate and sensationalism than genuine concern for democratic principles.
In a related development, Musk’s satellite network, Starlink, reported that it had been blocked from conducting financial transactions in Brazil following an order from de Moraes. The move is believed to be part of an effort to collect fines imposed on X for failing to comply with court orders.
Global controversy tests Musk’s leadership
This conflict with Brazil is just one of several recent international incidents involving Musk. Earlier this month, he criticized UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and engaged in a public spat with Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, which led to X being blocked in Venezuela for 10 days. Additionally, Musk has been struggling to keep X financially viable, with many advertisers abandoning the platform due to his lenient moderation policies and unpredictable behaviour.
The potential ban in Brazil comes at a time when there is global debate over the responsibilities of social media platforms in balancing freedom of expression with the need to protect users from harmful content. Judge de Moraes, while controversial, is credited by some with defending Brazil’s democracy, especially during the 2022 elections when former President Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters questioned the integrity of the country’s electronic voting system. However, Bolsonaro’s supporters argue that de Moraes has unfairly targeted conservatives and restricted free speech.
