Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Tesla CEO Elon Musk talk during a meeting in the city of Porto Feliz in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, May 20, 2022.
Kenny Oliveira | MCom | via Reuters
Brazil’s Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes launched an investigation Sunday into tech mogul Elon Musk, the billionaire owner and chief technology officer of social network X. The investigation concerns possible obstruction of justice by Musk, who said the over the weekend that it would defy court orders to restrict or suspend certain popular accounts on its platform.
Moraes also ordered Musk’s inclusion in a broader investigation into so-called digital militias, a term used for people accused of spreading disinformation online to attack democratic institutions in Brazil.
The orders follow threats of open defiance that Musk posted on his X account, where he now has 180.2 million followers.
A defiant Musk wrote on Saturday in response to previous court orders: “We are lifting all restrictions. This judge imposed huge fines, threatened to arrest our employees and cut off access to Brazil. As a result, we will likely lose all revenue in Brazil and we have to close our office there. But principles are more important than profit.”
On Sunday, Musk further challenged Brazil’s Supreme Court, calling for the resignation or impeachment of Moraes, the judge who ruled on the orders. Musk also made unsubstantiated claims that the judge broke the law in Brazil.
On Sunday, the tech billionaire also threatened to release information that would show Moraes as a traitor to his country.
He wrote, “Soon, will publish all that is required [Alexandre de Moraes] and how these requests violate Brazilian law. This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the Brazilian constitution and people. He should resign or be impeached. Shame [Alexandre de Moraes]shame.”
Moraes has long supported regulations to curb harmful content and misinformation on the internet in Brazil. It has faced pushback from a range of entities, including tech companies, far-right officials in the country and former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro gestures as he arrives at a hotel to attend a news conference on the Amazon rainforest and meet with Elon Musk, according to ministers, in Porto Feliz, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, May 20, 2022.
Amanda Perobelli | Reuters
With a population of over 215 million in 2023, Brazil is the second most populous country in the Western Hemisphere after the United States. Musk’s sharp opposition to Moraes comes during a year of municipal elections in the country, with voters scheduled to go to the polls in October.
Like American voters, Brazilian voters are deeply divided on politics. During the most recent transfer of power, the country also experienced destabilizing political violence similar to the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
On January 8, 2023supporters of Bolsonaro, Brazil’s ousted far-right former president, denounced the “stolen” election, stormed and vandalized government buildings and called for military intervention to remove President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from office.
Bolsonaro is currently under investigationsuspected of orchestrating a coup in his homeland.
Musk – who is CTO and owner of X and CEO of carmaker Tesla and rocket maker SpaceX – visited Bolsonaro in May 2022 during an election year, reportedly to discuss using the space company’s satellite internet services of in rural schools in the Amazon.
SpaceX first received permission to operate its satellite internet service, called Starlink, in Brazil during Bolsonaro’s presidency, and the service is now widely used across the country.
During their meeting in May 2022, Bolsonaro praised the Tesla executive’s plans to take over X as a “breath of hope.”
X and other social networks are facing increasing regulatory pressure worldwide, including in Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India and Turkey.
According to the filings, the court will fine Musk and the company 100,000 reais (about US$20,000) per day for each account X restores against Brazil’s Supreme Court orders. Those involved will also be held accountable in Brazil for violating court orders.
“Social networks are not lawless land!” Moraes wrote in his decision.
He added that Musk’s statements show that X protects those who promote criminal activities against Brazil’s democracy.
“‘X’s conduct constitutes, in theory, not only an abuse of economic power, attempting to UNLAWFULLY influence public opinion, but also a flagrant abetment and incitement to perpetuate various criminal behaviors practiced by the investigated digital militias,” the judge wrote . according Correio Brasiliense.
Mixed record for free speech
Free speech advocates fear that such regulations — created to limit online harm or protect users’ data and privacy — can all too easily be exploited by government officials and used to target or silence perceived enemies. , such as activists, academics and dissidents.
While Musk has been hailed as an absolute champion of free speech, his track record is deeply inconsistent.
When he took over at X, Musk reduced content retention, employee trust and security, relaxed company policies, and reinstated accounts that had been banned by previous management.
For example, Musk reinstated former President Donald Trump’s account after the previous administration banned him for life in January 2021 following the attack on Capitol Hill.
Meanwhile, Musk’s Tesla has for years required employees and customers to sign strict non-disclosure and binding arbitration agreements, which limit their free speech by design. At SpaceX, employees said they were fired in retaliation for writing an open letter critical of Musk in 2022.
In February, X removed accounts and posts associated with the ongoing farmer protests in India at the behest of the Indian government.
X did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on Sunday.
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect the correct Correio Braziliense spelling.