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Social media platform X said on Saturday it will close its operations in Brazil, effective immediately, alleging “censorship orders” by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
The Elon Musk-owned company claimed Moraes threatened to arrest its legal representative in Brazil in a secret order if it did not comply with legal orders to take down certain content from its platform.
Earlier this year, the company had clashed with Moraes, who had ordered X to block certain accounts that were accused of spreading fakes news and hate messages during the tenure of former president Jair Bolsonaro.
In April, Moraes opened an investigation into Musk after the billionaire said that he would reactivate accounts that the judge had previously ordered blocked.
However, the company later reversed course, with its lawyers telling Brazil’s Supreme Court that it would comply with the court’s rulings.
X also posted pictures of a document allegedly signed by Moraes, stating that a daily fine of 20,000 reais and an arrest decree would be imposed on X representative Rachel Nova Conceicao for disobeying the judge’s order.
While the social media giant stated that it would close its operations in Brazil, it added that the X service will continue to be available in the country.
Musk, a self-proclaimed free-speech absolutist, called the decision to stop operations in Brazil difficult and said that the company could not have agreed to the judge’s “secret censorship and private information handover demands.”
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