What to Know About Elon Musk’s Battle With a Brazilian Judge Over Speech on Social Media

More Latin American tyranny

When billionaire Elon Musk acquired Twitter—now X—in 2022, some feared that the self-avowed free-speech “absolutist” would turn the platform into a free-for-all for disinformation. Now, as a Brazilian judge seeks to crack down on fake news on social media, he and Musk have found each other at odds in a growing spat that could have significant consequences for Musk, Brazil, and X.

On Saturday, X’s Global Government Affairs team posted that it had been forced to block “certain popular accounts in Brazil” without, in its view, sufficient explanation. It was prohibited, it said, from publicizing what accounts were impacted as well as what court or judge issued the orders.

“We believe that such orders are not in accordance with the Marco Civil da Internet or the Brazilian Federal Constitution, and we challenge the orders legally where possible,” the post said. “The people of Brazil, regardless of their political beliefs, are entitled to freedom of speech, due process, and transparency from their own authorities.”

Tensions escalated when Musk, in a series of posts, called out the judge, Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, by name and said X would not abide by his orders no matter the consequences. Musk later said de Moraes ordered the suspension of accounts belonging to “sitting members of the parliament and major journalists.”

“These are the most draconian demands of any country on Earth!” Musk said in one post.

“We will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there,” he said in another. “But principles matter more than profit.”

“This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil,” he said in another. “He should resign or be impeached.”

In turn, de Moraes issued a decision Sunday saying he would include Musk in his larger investigation as well as initiate a new inquiry specifically into the X owner, whom he accused of obstruction of justice and incitement to crime—actions, in the judge’s description, that “disrespect Brazil’s sovereignty.” ...

Right-wing politicians, including Bolsonaro, have accused de Moraes of overstepping his authority and abusing his power, though many of de Moraes’ defenders argue that the judge’s approach is sound, given the fragility of democracy in the country....

And Brazil’s Secretary of Social Communication Paulo Pimenta posted on X in response to de Moraes’ opening of an investigation into Musk: “We will not be intimidated. Our Country is sovereign and no one is going to impose their authoritarian will and enforce the logic that money makes their ‘business model’ above the Federal Constitution.” [A nice case of projection here. Who exactly is being authoritarian?]

https://time.com/6964518/elon-musk-brazil-judge-moraes-free-speech-disinformation/

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