Brasília, Brazil – A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has initiated an investigation into Elon Musk after the billionaire announced his intent to reactivate accounts on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, which the judge had ordered to be blocked. Musk posted on the platform that the restrictions had been lifted due to the court order being unconstitutional. He further called for Justice Alexandre de Moraes to resign or face impeachment.
Justice Moraes issued a decision stating that Musk had engaged in a disinformation campaign against the Supreme Court. X, the platform owned by Musk, could face daily fines of 100,000 reais ($19,774; £15,670) if it fails to comply with the court order. The affected accounts are believed to be linked to far-right movements, which had posted content related to the riots that occurred on January 8, 2023, when supporters of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed various government institutions.
X’s Global Government Affairs team stated that the company is not allowed to disclose which specific accounts were affected. However, Musk has since claimed that X will publish all the information demanded by Moraes and highlight how those requests violate Brazilian law.
Justice Moraes has attracted attention for his decisions to impose restrictions on social media platforms in Brazil. He is also investigating Bolsonaro and his supporters for their alleged involvement in an attempted coup d’état.
Bolsonaro released a video of his meeting with Musk in May 2022. He has also called on his supporters to gather on April 21. Meanwhile, Brazil’s communication minister Paulo Pimenta criticized Musk, asserting that “social networks are not a lawless land” and that their homeland will not be affronted, regardless of an individual’s wealth and power.
According to Bruna Santos, the global campaigns manager at non-profit organization Digital Action, if X decides to defy the court order, the platform might face temporary blocking. Santos believes that Musk’s actions were aimed at provoking the Brazilian judiciary and the possibility of X being blocked is real.
Additional reporting by Mariana Schreiber and Joao Da Silva.