Social media giant X will end operations in Brazil, although its service will remain available to users in the country for the time being.
The decision comes as the company’s latest response to actions by Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Earlier this year, Moraes ordered X to block certain accounts, as he investigates so-called “digital militias” that have been accused of spreading fake news and hate messages during the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
X owner Elon Musk was included as part of the criminal inquiry into individuals who allegedly spread false information about Brazil’s election and justice system.
“Due to demands by ‘Justice’ Alexandre in Brazil that would require us to break (in secret) Brazilian, Argentinian, American and international law, has no choice but to close our local operations in Brazil,” Musk said in the post.
“The decision to close the office in Brazil was difficult, but, if we had agreed to Alexandre’s (illegal) secret censorship and private information handover demands, there was no way we could explain our actions without being ashamed,” Musk said in a follow-up post.
“As a result, to protect the safety of our staff, we have made the decision to close our operation in Brazil, effective immediately,” it read. “The X service remains available to the people of Brazil.”
“We believe the Brazilian people should know what is being asked of us,” X said.
As part of the “digital militias” investigation, lawmakers from Bolsonaro’s circle have been imprisoned and his supporters’ homes raided. Critics of de Moraes argued that he has overstepped his authority to clamp down on undesirable political speech.
Defenders of de Moraes maintain that his decisions are legally sound and necessary to combat fake news on social media. They see the accounts as a threat to Brazilian democracy, underscored by an uprising on Jan. 8, 2023, which has been compared to the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the U.S. Capitol.
“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,” he said. “Social peace is non-negotiable.”