Social media platform X has abruptly ceased its operations in Brazil “effective immediately” this weekend. The decision follows a threat by Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes to arrest X’s legal representative in Brazil if the company failed to comply with his order to block accounts of users under investigation for allegedly spreading misinformation.
A document shared online by X’s Global Government Affairs team reveals that the Supreme Court judge’s decision included new fines and the potential arrest of Rachel de Oliveira Villa Nova Conceição, the local representative for the platform’s office in Brazil.
“Despite our numerous appeals to the Supreme Court going unheard, the Brazilian public not being informed about these orders, and our Brazilian staff having no responsibility or control over content blocking on our platform, Moraes has chosen to threaten our staff in Brazil rather than respect the law or due process. As a result, to protect the safety of our staff, we have made the decision to close our operation in Brazil, effective immediately. The X service remains available to the people of Brazil. We are deeply saddened that we have been forced to make this decision. The responsibility lies solely with Alexandre de Moraes,” reads a statement shared by X’s Global Government Affairs account and reshared by Elon Musk.
A long ongoing feud
The tension between the Tesla CEO and Judge Alexandre de Moraes has been simmering for several months. It escalated in April when the judge opened an inquiry and put Elon Musk under investigation for charges, including obstruction of justice.
Musk criticized Moraes, calling his actions censorship. After X failed to comply with the judge’s orders, Moraes increased daily fines to 100,000 reais ($19,774; £15,670) for any account that X reactivates.
“The decision to close the X 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 shared on X on August 17th.
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