In response to ongoing legal disputes with Brazil’s Supreme Court regarding a secret directive to remove certain posts, the social media platform X has revealed its decision to close its Brazilian office. This announcement was made through a post on the company’s own platform.
Users in Brazil will still be able to access the site despite the office closure. Elon Musk explained in his statement on X that the choice to shut down the office was difficult but necessary to avoid complying with what he described as “illegal” and “secretive” censorship demands from Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Musk emphasized that acquiescing to these demands would have resulted in the company being in a morally compromised position.
Elon Musk calls Brazilian censorship demands ‘illegal’ in X’s office closure announcement
X included a screenshot of the order issued by Justice de Moraes, who is investigating digital militias linked to misinformation and hate speech during former President Jair Bolsonaro’s term. The order threatened a daily fine of $3,650 and the arrest of X’s local representative, Rachel Nova Conceicao, if the platform did not adhere to the demands.
The company criticized de Moraes for targeting its Brazilian staff instead of following legal procedures and respecting due process. X expressed its deep regret over the need to close the office, placing full responsibility on de Moraes for this outcome.
Earlier in the year, de Moraes had ordered X to block certain accounts, a directive the company initially followed. However, Musk later denounced the order as “unconstitutional” and announced plans to restore the blocked accounts. After Musk’s remarks, X initially resisted but eventually agreed to comply with the Supreme Court’s rulings.
The Brazilian Supreme Court has not responded to X’s claims or confirmed the validity of the order’s screenshot. Following the decision to shut down operations in Brazil, Musk called for de Moraes’s removal, asserting on X that his position as a justice was untenable.
Nikolas Ferreira, a prominent right-wing Brazilian politician, has urged public protests to demand de Moraes’s impeachment. Ferreira has invited Musk to join the planned demonstrations in São Paulo on September 7th.
