The conflict between technology magnate Elon Musk and Brazilian authorities intensified when Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes initiated an investigation into Musk over potential obstruction of justice and incitement to crime.
The dispute centers on Musk’s announcement that he would reactivate blocked social media accounts on platform X, which he owns, in defiance of an unconstitutional judicial order.
The Gateway Pundit reported on Saturday that the Global Government Affairs team of X Corp issued a statement expressing their forced compliance with Brazilian court decisions to block certain accounts, citing a lack of transparency and due process in these orders.
The statement highlighted the company’s commitment to challenging these orders legally, advocating for the principles of freedom of speech and transparency within the Brazilian constitution.
X’s Global Government Affairs said in a statement:
X Corp. has been forced by court decisions to block certain popular accounts in Brazil. We have informed those accounts that we have taken this action.
We do not know the reasons these blocking orders have been issued.
We do not know which posts are alleged to violate the law.
We are prohibited from saying which court or judge issued the order, or on what grounds.
We are prohibited from saying which accounts are impacted.
We are threatened with daily fines if we fail to comply.
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 people of Brazil, regardless of their political beliefs, are entitled to freedom of speech, due process, and transparency from their own authorities.
Elon Musk announced that X would lift all imposed restrictions, despite acknowledging the financial repercussions, including the potential shutdown of X’s operations in Brazil.
“We are lifting all restrictions. This judge has applied massive fines, threatened to arrest our employees and cut off access to X in Brazil. As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there. But principles matter more than profit,” Musk said.
We are lifting all restrictions. This judge has applied massive fines, threatened to arrest our employees and cut off access to in Brazil.
As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there.
But principles matter more than…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 6, 2024
Musk also advocated for the judge’s resignation and labeling the account suspensions as unconstitutional. Musk pledged full disclosure of the demands made by Justice Moraes and accused him of betraying the Brazilian constitution and its people.
“Coming shortly, X will publish everything demanded by Alexandre and how those requests violate Brazilian law. This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached. Shame Alexandre, shame,” Musk wrote.
Coming shortly, will publish everything demanded by @Alexandre and how those requests violate Brazilian law.
This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached.
Shame @Alexandre, shame.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 7, 2024
Justice Moraes, leading investigations into digital militias linked with the spread of disinformation under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration and an alleged coup attempt, has now included Musk in the inquiry, Reuters reported.
The justice’s firm stance was reflected in his warning that X must comply with the court’s orders or face a daily fine of 100,000 reais ($19,740).
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s regime, alongside Solicitor General Jorge Messias, has sided with Moraes, advocating the need to regulate social media networks to prevent foreign entities from violating Brazilian laws.
DC Draino said it best, “The Biden regime hates Elon Musk for allowing free speech in America. They want to arrest him and seize his company, but the Constitution won’t allow it. So what’s their workaround? Using a Marxist puppet gov’t in Brazil to try and arrest him instead The CIA and State Dept is direct involved. This is tyranny.”
The Biden regime hates Elon Musk for allowing free speech in America
They want to arrest him and seize his company, but the Constitution won’t allow it
So what’s their workaround?
Using a Marxist puppet gov’t in Brazil to try and arrest him instead
The CIA and State Dept is… https://t.co/yShS3qWLUq
— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) April 8, 2024
In response to the escalating tension, Musk has advised Brazilians to use virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass any access restrictions.
“To ensure that you can still access the platform, download a virtual private network (VPN) app,” Musk wrote.
Using VPN is very easy.
Simply download a VPN app of your choice, launch it, and connect to your preferred location.
Once it’s activated and connected, you’ll be able to access any app that is otherwise restricted in your region. pic.twitter.com/hpae6QjlPw
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) April 7, 2024
Journalist Michael Shellenberger has more on this:
Three days ago I published the Twitter Files for Brazil. They show that Moraes has violated the Brazilian Constitution. Moraes illegally demanded that Twitter reveal private information about Twitter users who used hashtags he considered inappropriate. He demanded access to Twitter’s internal data, violating the platform’s policy. He censored, on his own initiative and without any respect for due process, posts on Twitter by parliamentarians from the Brazilian Congress. And Moraes tried to turn Twitter’s content moderation policies into a weapon against supporters of then-president Jair Bolsonaro.
I say this as an independent and non-partisan journalist. I’m not a fan of either Bolsonaro or Trump. My political views are very moderate. But I know censorship when I see it.
The Twitter Files also revealed that Google, Facebook, Uber, WhatsApp and Instagram betrayed the people of Brazil. If such evidence is proven, the executives of these companies behaved like cowards: they provided the Brazilian government with personal registration data and telephone numbers without a court order and, therefore, violating the law.
When Twitter refused to provide Brazilian authorities with private user information, including direct messages, the government attempted to sue Twitter’s top Brazilian lawyer.
When I lived in Brazil in 1992, I was very left-wing. At the time, Lula and the PT’s slogans were “Without fear of being happy”.
In recent days, I have spoken to dozens of Brazilians, including professors, journalists and respected lawyers. Everyone tells me they are shocked by what is happening. They told me that they are afraid to speak their mind and that the Lula government is complicit in creating this climate of fear.
Brazil belongs to the Brazilians. It is not my country. As such, there are limits to what I am capable of doing.
But I can say things that many Brazilians do not feel safe saying: Alexandre de Moraes is a tyrant. And the only way to deal with tyrants is to confront them. It is up to Brazil’s senators to confront the tyrant. And it is up to the people of Brazil to demand that their senators do so.
“We are… pushing back against the requests…”
On February 14, 2020, Twitter’s legal counsel in Brazil, Rafael Batista, emailed his colleagues to describe a hearing in Congress on “Disinformation and ‘fake news’”
Batista revealed that members of Brazil’s Congress had asked… pic.twitter.com/OQCfYD13LO
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) April 3, 2024
WATCH:
BRAZIL IS ON THE BRINK
I’m reporting to you from Brazil, where a dramatic series of events are underway.
At 5:52 pm Eastern Time, today, April 6, 2024, X corporation, formerly known as Twitter, announced that a Brazilian court had forced it to “block certain popular accounts in… pic.twitter.com/GjdAgmkCBo
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) April 7, 2024
The post Elon Musk Under Investigation by Brazil Supreme Court After Musk Promises to Reactivate Social Media Accounts that Top Judge Ordered to Be Removed appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
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