Brazil Supreme Court justice opens inquiry into Elon Musk

Brazil’s Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes on Sunday opened an investigation against tech mogul Elon Musk, the billionaire owner and technical director of the social network X (formerly Twitter). The investigation concerns possible obstruction of justice by Elon Musk, who said over the weekend that he would defy court orders to restrict or suspend certain popular accounts on his platform.

Moraes also ordered Musk’s inclusion in a broader investigation into so-called “digital militias,” a term applied to people accused of spreading disinformation online to attack democratic institutions in Brazil.

These orders follow threats of open defiance published by Musk on his account on X, where he now has 180.2 million followers.

Musk defiantly wrote on Saturday in response to earlier court rulings: “We are lifting all restrictions. This judge has imposed massive fines, threatened to arrest our employees and cut off access to Brazil. As a result, we will lose probably all our revenue in Brazil and have to close our office there. But principles matter more than profit.

On Sunday, Musk further provoked Brazil’s Supreme Court, calling for the resignation or removal of the judge who ruled on the orders, Moraes. Musk also made unsubstantiated claims that the judge broke the law in Brazil.

On Sunday, the tech billionaire also threatened to publish information from X that would portray Moraes as a traitor to his own country.

He wrote: “Soon we will publish 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. Shame (Alexandre de Moraes) Moraes), too bad.”

Moraes has long supported regulations aimed at curbing harmful content and misinformation online in Brazil. He has faced resistance from various entities, including tech companies, the country’s far-right officials and former President Bolsonaro.

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. Elon Musk’s vocal opposition to Moraes comes during a year of municipal elections in the country, 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 that of January 6, 2021 during its last transfer of power.

On January 8, 2023, supporters of Brazil’s ousted far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro denounced a “stolen” election, invaded and vandalized government buildings, and called for military intervention to remove elected president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Currently, Bolsonaro is under investigation on suspicion of orchestrating a coup, fabricating records and other crimes in his home country.

Musk – who is CTO and owner of by satellite from its space company into rural schools across the country. Amazon.

SpaceX first gained permission to activate its satellite internet service, named Starlink, in Brazil during Bolsonaro’s presidency, and the service is now widely used across the country.

During their May 2022 meeting, Bolsonaro spoke of the Tesla executive’s plans to take over Twitter as a “breath of hope.”

X and other social networks face increasing regulatory pressure around the world, including in Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India and Turkey.

For each account reinstated by Those involved will also be held accountable in Brazil for defying court orders.

Moraes wrote in his decision that “social media is not a lawless country!” » And he said that Musk’s statements show that X protects those who promote criminal activities against Brazilian democracy.

“The behavior of “X” constitutes, in theory, not only an abuse of economic power, by attempting to ILLEGALLY influence public opinion, but also a blatant incitement and incitement to the maintenance of various criminal conduct practiced by digital militias investigated,” the judge wrote, according to Correio Brazilense.

X, led by Musk, was fined for failing to comply with Australian electronic security regulations. The hate, child exploitation and other harmful content on their platforms.

Free speech advocates worry that such regulations – created in the name of reducing online harm or protecting user 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.

Although Musk describes himself as a free speech absolutist, his record is deeply inconsistent.

When he took over Twitter, Musk reduced content moderation, employee trust and safety, relaxed company policies, and reinstated accounts that had been banned under his previous leadership.

For example, Musk reinstated former President Donald Trump’s account after previous management banned him for life in January 2021. (The ban came following the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol. United States, during which Trump supporters rioted and disrupted lawmakers who were officially counting Electoral College votes.)

Meanwhile, Musk-led Tesla has for years required its employees and customers to sign strict nondisclosure and mandatory arbitration agreements, which limits their free speech by design. At SpaceX, employees said they were fired in retaliation for writing an open letter criticizing Musk in 2022.

And in February, X removed, at the request of the Indian government, accounts and posts related to the ongoing farmers’ protests in that country.

X did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Sunday.

This is a developing story, please check back for updates.