Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has announced the closure of operations in Brazil due to what it said were censorship orders by a Brazilian judge.
X announced, “Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexander Morris has threatened it if it does not comply with court orders. They will arrest X’s legal representative in Brazil. So we have decided to stop operating in Brazil after censorship orders from a Brazilian judge, Judge Alexander Morris, secretly threatened an X legal representative in Brazil, not to remove some content but also to arrest.”
Documents signed by the Judge have also been published, including a $3,600 daily fine for non-compliance and an arrest warrant for X’s representative in Brazil. In 2022, the Brazilian Supreme Court ordered blocking the popular messaging application Telegram.
X immediately removed all its remaining staff in Brazil, but the company also said the service would still be available to Brazilians. Against this backdrop, the company has not explained how it claimed to suspend its operations if it continues to provide X services to Brazilians.
Earlier this year, the platform clashed with Judge DeMaurice over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. The company said the Judge’s recent orders amounted to censorship. A copy of the document was also shared, on which the Associated Press (AP) sent emails to the Supreme Court’s press office, but there was no response.
