X Closes Brazilian Operations After Judiciary Threatens Legal Rep With Arrest

Elon Musk announced the closure of X’s operations in Brazil after the country’s top judge, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, reportedly threatened to arrest the company’s legal representatives for not complying with content removal requests.

The Details: Despite closing its local operations, X will still be available to Brazil’s nearly 20 million users.

For Context: Moraes has led the fight against disinformation in Brazil, previously spearheading the suspension of Twitter accounts accused of spreading false information. Musk and Moraes have been locked in a legal battle since April, when Moraes ordered an investigation of Musk, reportedly for “criminal instrumentalization” of the platform.

Key Quote: X’s Global Government Affairs team shared the order from Moraes and wrote, “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.”

How The Media Covered It: The Washington Post (Lean Left bias) included the context that “Musk has been outspoken about his distaste of Moraes,” whom it described as “one of the world’s most aggressive combatants of disinformation.” Reuters (Center bias) noted that earlier this year, Moraes asked Musk to block certain accounts that were “accused of spreading fake news and hate messages during the government of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro.” The Daily Caller (Right bias) based its coverage largely on Reuters’ report.