The Brazilian Supreme Court ordered X Corp. (formerly Twitter) to remove certain users from its platform, the social media company announced on Saturday.
X’s Global Government Affairs account said that the company was “forced by court decisions to block certain popular accounts in Brazil,” adding that no reason was provided as to why or any details given regarding the posts that allegedly violate the law. Furthermore, X said the court prohibited the company from disclosing the accounts concerned and claimed they are being threatened with fines.
The company further added that the decision breaches the Marco Civil da Internet, as well as the Brazilian Federal Constitution. X’s legal counsel said, in a published email to his colleagues, that the company received requests from the congress of Brazil asking for private messages exchanged between users, which he said they were working on “pushing back against” as they don’t comply with “Marco Civil legal requirements for disclosure of user’s records.” He also revealed that, after a group named “Conservative Movement” submitted a writ to the Supreme Court regarding the disclosure of their private messages, the court suspended the requests because they violate the legal requirements.
The platform’s CEO Elon Musk criticized the decision, stating that it amounted to censorship, which he said “violate[s] the law & will of the people of Brazil.” Musk announced it will heavily impact the platform’s revenue in Brazil. Musk claimed this will consequently compel X to shut down their office in the country, declaring they “are lifting all restrictions” and will challenge the decision.
American author and journalist Michael Shellenberger stated on X, in light of the decision:
At any moment, Brazil’s Supreme Court could shut off all access to X/Twitter for the people of Brazil.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Brazil is on the brink of dictatorship at the hands of a totalitarian Supreme Court Justice named Alexandre de Moraes.President Lula da Silva is participating in the push toward totalitarianism. Since taking office, Lula has massively increased government funding of the mainstream news media, most of which are encouraging increased censorship. What Lula and de Moraes are doing is an outrageous violation of Brazil’s constitution and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
Musk published today on X, the platform will publish the demands of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Musk intends to showcase how they violate Brazilian law, and condemn Moraes for “repeatedly betray[ing] the constitution and people of Brazil,” calling for his impeachment.