Brazil is planning to investigate X owner Elon Musk after he challenged a Brazilian judge's order to block certain accounts.

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Karah Rucker Anchor/Reporter

International

Brazil to investigate Musk after pushback over order to ban X accounts

Apr 08, 2024

Karah Rucker Anchor/Reporter

By Karah Rucker (Anchor/Reporter), Ian Kennedy (Video Editor)

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A judge in Brazil is opening an investigation into X owner Elon Musk after he pushed back against a court order to block some accounts. While X posted that it was forced to block the accounts, Musk said he’s working to change that.

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…
— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) April 6, 2024

A post by the platform said it had “been forced by court decisions to block certain popular accounts,” and that it did not know “the reasons these blocking orders have been issued.”

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According to the post, X was threatened with daily fines if it failed to comply

It is unclear what kind of accounts Brazil wanted blocked, as those were sealed by the court and X isn’t allowed to say.

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.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 7, 2024

Musk posted on X, expressing his displeasure and calling for Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to be removed. Musk later said he would reinstate the affected accounts, contending that he wants to publish the court order, even if it means the platform gets pulled from Brazil.

The judge has now opened an investigation into Musk, saying he is waging a public “disinformation campaign” against Brazil.

“We cannot live in a society in which billionaires domiciled abroad have control of social networks and put themselves in a position to violate the rule of law, failing to comply with court orders and threatening our authorities,” Brazilian Attorney General Jorge Messias wrote.

This is the latest example of a country requiring X to block or censor certain profiles and posts. The governments of India and Turkey have previously threatened to remove public access to X if it doesn’t comply with their censorship requests.

Musk posted instructions on how X users in Brazil can download a VPN to still navigate the social media site in case Brazil does remove public access.

Tags: Brazil, Censorship, Disinformation, Elon Musk, Social Media

[KARAH RUCKER]

THERE’S A BATTLE BREWING BETWEEN BRAZIL AND TECH BILLIONAIRES.

FRONT AND CENTER – IS ELON MUSK.

BRAZIL’S ATTORNEY GENERAL CALLED FOR SOCIAL MEDIA SITES TO BE REGULATED BY THE GOVERNMENT –

AFTER X OWNER ELON MUSK PUSHED BACK AGAINST A COURT ORDER DEMANDING X TO BLOCK SOME ACCOUNTS.

WE DON’T KNOW WHAT KIND OF ACCOUNTS BRAZIL WANTED BLOCKED –

AS THOSE WERE SEALED BY THE COURT AND X ISN’T ALLOWED TO SAY.

THIS IS JUST THE LATEST EXAMPLE OF A COUNTRY REQUIRING X TO BLOCK OR CENSOR CERTAIN PROFILES AND POSTS.

AND WHILE X POSTED THEY WERE FORCED TO BLOCK ACCOUNTS –

ELON MUSK SAYS HE’S WORKING TO CHANGE THAT.

IN A POST BY X, THE PLATFORM SAID THEY HAD “BEEN FORCED BY COURT DECISIONS TO BLOCK CERTAIN POPULAR ACCOUNTS IN BRAZIL…

WE DO NOT KNOW THE REASONS THESE BLOCKING ORDERS HAVE BEEN ISSUED.

BUT ARE “THREATENED WITH DAILY FINES IF WE FAIL TO COMPLY.”

“THE PEOPLE OF BRAZIL REGARDLESS OF THEIR POLITICAL BELIEFS, ARE ENTITLED TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH.”

THE OWNER OF X – ISN’T HAPPY ABOUT IT –

AND EXPRESSED THAT VERY CLEARLY ON X.

MUSK CALLED FOR THE JUDGE’S REMOVAL –

WANTS TO PUBLISH THE COURT ORDER –

AND UNBLOCK THE ACCOUNTS.

HE POSTED OVER THE WEEKEND THE ACCOUNTS WERE UNBLOCKED.

– EVEN IF IT MEANS HIS PLATFORM GETS PULLED FROM THE COUNTRY.

MUSK SAID “PRINCIPLES MATTER MORE THAN PROFIT.”

THE JUDGE HAS NOW OPENED AN INVESTIGATION INTO MUSK – SAYING HE IS WAGING A PUBLIC “DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN” AGAINST BRAZIL.

BRAZIL’S ATTORNEY GENERAL WROTE –

IN OTHER COUNTRIES – MUSK HAS FACED SIMILAR ISSUES.

GOVERNMENTS OF INDIA AND TURKEY THREATENING TO REMOVE PUBLIC ACCESS TO X IF IT DOESN’T COMPLY WITH THEIR CENSORSHIP REQUESTS.

MUSK POSTED INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW X USERS IN BRAZIL CAN DOWNLOAD A VPN TO STILL NAVIGATE THE SOCIAL MEDIA SITE – IN THE CASE BRAZIL DOES SHUT X DOWN.

Brazil to investigate Musk after pushback over order to ban X accounts

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