Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Tesla CEO Elon Musk talk during a meeting in the city of Porto Feliz in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, May 20, 2022.
Kenny Oliveira | MCom | via Reuters
The orders follow threats of open defiance posted by Musk on his X account, where he now has 180.2 million listed followers.
A defiant Musk wrote on Saturday in response to earlier court orders: “We are removing all restrictions. This judge imposed massive fines, threatened to arrest our employees and cut off access to Brazil. As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to close our office there, but principles are more important than profit.”
By Sunday, Musk had further provoked Brazil’s Supreme Court, calling for the resignation or impeachment of the judge who made the decisions, Moraes. Musk also made unsupported claims that the judge broke the law in Brazil.
On Sunday, the tech billionaire also threatened to release information from inside X that would paint Moraes as a traitor to his own country.
He wrote: “Waiting soon, I will post everything requested by [Alexandre de Moraes] and how these requests violate Brazilian law. This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and the people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached. A shame [Alexandre de Moraes]shame.”
Moraes has long supported regulations to curb harmful content and misinformation online in Brazil. He faced pushback from a range of entities, including tech companies, far-right officials in the country and former President Bolsonaro.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro gestures as he arrives at a hotel to attend a press conference on the Amazon rainforest and meet with Elon Musk, according to ministers, in Porto Feliz, Sao Paulo state, Brazil on May 20, 2022.
Amanda Perobelli | Reuters
With a population of more than 215 million in 2023, Brazil is the second most populous country in the Western Hemisphere after the United States. Musk’s vocal opposition to Moraes comes during the country’s municipal election year, with voters set to go to the polls in October.
Like Americans, Brazilian voters are deeply divided on politics. The country has also experienced destabilizing political violence, similar to January 6, 2021, during the last transfer of power.
On January 8, 2023, supporters of Brazil’s ousted far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro denounced a “stolen” election, stormed and vandalized government buildings, and called for military intervention to remove president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from office.
Bolsonaro is currently under investigation, suspected of organizing a coup, fabricating records and other crimes in his homeland.
Musk – who is CTO and owner of X, as well as CEO of carmaker Tesla and rocket maker SpaceX – visited Bolsonaro in May 2022 during an election year to discuss the use of satellite internet services on his spacecraft a company in rural Amazon schools.
SpaceX first received permission to turn on its satellite internet service, called Starlink, in Brazil during Bolsonaro’s presidency, and the service is now widely used across the country.
During their meeting in May 2022, Bolsonaro hailed the Tesla CEO’s plans to take over Twitter as “a glimmer of hope.”
X and other social networks are facing increasing regulatory pressure around the world, including in Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India and Turkey.
For each account X recovers against Brazil’s Supreme Court orders, the court will fine Musk and the company 100,000 reais (almost $20,000) each per day, according to the filings. Those involved will also be held liable in Brazil for failure to comply with court orders.
Moraes wrote in his decision that “Social networks are not a land of lawlessness!” And he said Musk’s statements show X is protecting those who promote criminal activities against democracy in Brazil.
“‘X’s conduct constitutes, in theory, not only an abuse of economic power by attempting to UNLAWFULLY influence public opinion, but also a clear incitement and incitement to support the various criminal behaviors practiced by the investigated digital militias,” the judge wrote , according to Correio Brazilense.
Musk-led X has been fined for failing to comply with Australia’s e-safety regulations. X is also under investigation by the European Union under their relatively new Digital Services Act, a set of laws designed to hold tech companies accountable for incitement to terrorism, hate speech, child exploitation and other harmful content on their platforms.
Free speech advocates fear that such regulations — created in the name of limiting online harm or protecting users’ data and privacy — could be too easily exploited by government officials and used to target or silence perceived enemies, such as activists , academics and dissidents.
While Musk has characterized himself as an absolutist on free speech, his track record is deeply inconsistent.
When Musk took over Twitter, he cut back on content moderation, trust and safety officers, eased the company’s policies and reinstated accounts that had been banned under previous management.
For example, Musk reinstated former President Donald Trump’s account after the previous leadership banned him for life in January 2021. (The ban came after the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol, where Trump supporters rioted and upset lawmakers, who officially counted the votes of the Electoral College.)
Meanwhile, Musk-led Tesla has required its employees and customers to sign strict non-disclosure agreements and binding arbitration agreements for years that limit their free speech by design. At SpaceX, employees said they were fired in retaliation for writing an open letter critical of Musk in 2022.
And in February, X removed accounts and posts at the behest of the Indian government that were linked to ongoing farmer protests there.
X did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Sunday.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
