Thought Leadership
Following a months-long dispute with tech billionaire Elon Musk, a judge in Brazil has ordered the blocking of his online platform X.
The National Telecommunications Authority (Anatel) then instructed the South American country’s internet operators to block their users’ access to the social network. According to a report by the news portal G1, numerous users of the mobile phone providers Vivo, Claro and Oi already no longer had access to their X accounts.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes from the Supreme Federal Court accuses the Twitter successor service X of not taking decisive enough action against the spread of hate speech and fake news. Musk, for his part, refers to freedom of speech and described the judge as an “evil dictator”.
The conflict had recently escalated. The judge demanded that X block the accounts of right-wing activists who spread conspiracy theories and false information. Musk described the demand as unlawful, the online platform did not comply with the request – and did not pay the fine imposed.
“X is the most used news source in Brazil. It’s what people want,” wrote X owner Musk on the platform. And with reference to the villain from the Harry Potter series: “Now the tyrant Voldemort is destroying people’s right to freedom of expression.”
Blocking after expiry of ultimatum
Musk had the office in Brazil closed in mid-August on the grounds that he feared the former representative would be arrested. Moraes gave X an ultimatum this week: either a legal representative would be appointed within 24 hours – or the platform would be shut down. Musk let the deadline pass.
Instead, he stirred up trouble against Moraes on X, where he has 196 million followers. He created a special X account on which the federal judge’s alleged violations of Brazilian law are listed.
Musk is considered the richest person in the world, mainly thanks to his stake in the electric car manufacturer Tesla, which he runs. The financial service Bloomberg estimates his fortune at 239 billion US dollars (216 billion euros).
Musk refers to freedom of speech
Musk, who has been a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump for some time, always presents himself as a defender of freedom of expression. He accuses the judge of censorship. “Alexandre de Moraes is an evil dictator masquerading as a judge,” wrote Musk on X. At the same time, under his direction, X responded to government demands to block some accounts and content in India, for example.
The US embassy in Brazil announced that it is monitoring the case. “The US Embassy is monitoring the situation between the Supreme Court and Platform X,” it said in a statement. “We emphasize that freedom of expression is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy.”
However, X has also recently been used in Brazil to mobilize for anti-democratic campaigns. So-called digital militias associated with the right-wing ex-president Jair Bolsonaro are spreading fake news and hate speech on social networks.
Moraes had already opened an investigation against Musk himself in April for obstruction of justice and incitement to commit crimes. “Social networks are not a legal vacuum,” the federal judge wrote in his investigation order at the time.
Income from abroad of increasing importance for X
As advertising revenues in the US home market are falling following the platform’s shift to the right under Musk, foreign markets such as Brazil, with a population of more than 200 million, have become more important for X’s finances. According to media reports, X has around 20 million users in the Latin American country. Following the suspension of X in Brazil, competitor Bluesky reportedly gained around one million new users within three days.
dpa
