Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX and Tesla and owner of X, looks on during the Milken Conference 2024 Global Conference Sessions at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, USA, May 6, 2024.
David Swanson | Reuters
Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla, SpaceX and X Corp., stepped up his online attacks on Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes on Thursday, amid a worsening political and legal dispute between the tech billionaire and his companies and Brazil's top court.
The De Moraes court announced on Wednesday that it had ordered Musk and X Corp. to appoint a legal representative for the social media company formerly known as Twitter in Brazil within 24 hours or face the “penalty of suspension of its activities.”
A blocking of X in Brazil could cause serious business problems for the already struggling social network. Brazil has a population of more than 171 million active social media users, according to market research by Oosga.
The country is preparing for local elections in October. And under Brazilian law, social networks there must employ someone to receive and review official warnings about political false reports.
X does not have any such employee in Brazil after the company announced earlier this month that it would withdraw all its employees from the country.
On Wednesday evening, Musk posted a doctored image that appeared to show the judge behind bars. “One day, @Alexandre, that picture of you in prison will be real. Mark my words,” Musk wrote to de Moraes and Musk's 195.8 million followers on X.
On Thursday, reports from Brazilian broadcaster G1 Globo revealed that de Moraes had ordered the freezing of “all financial assets” of Musk's companies in Brazil, including SpaceX's Starlink, to “guarantee the payment of the fines” imposed by the court on Musk.
“Earlier this week, we received an order from Brazil's Supreme Court @alexandre de Moraes freezing Starlink's finances and preventing Starlink from conducting financial transactions in this country,” the company said in a post late Wednesday.
“This order is based on the unsubstantiated finding that Starlink should be responsible for the fines imposed – unconstitutionally – on X,” the company said. “It was issued in secret and without granting Starlink the due process guaranteed by the Brazilian Constitution. We intend to resolve the matter legally.”
On August 29, 2024, in Brazil, the Minister of the Supreme Court, STF Minister Alexandre de Moraes, ordered the blocking of the accounts of another company, Starlink, owned by Elon Musk, to ensure the payment of fines imposed by the STF due to the absence of representatives of X in Brazil.
Ton Molina | Only photo |
Starlink is a satellite internet service operated by SpaceX. It is now approved for commercial operation in 105 countries, including Brazil. Starlink has been promoting itself on X under Musk's leadership, and Musk has encouraged people in Brazil to use Starlink to access X.
Musk, X Corp. CEO Linda Yaccarino and SpaceX representatives did not respond to CNBC's request for further information Thursday afternoon.
On Thursday, Musk called de Moraes “an outright criminal” who only “poses as a judge” in a post on X. The tech billionaire continued, “The tyrant, @Alexandre, is the dictator of Brazil. Lula is his lapdog,” referring to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was elected president of Brazil in 2022, defeating far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro is a long-time ally of Musk. His government granted Musk the right to operate Starlink in Brazil and awarded him a medal in recognition of his services to the country. Bolsonaro's right-wing supporters have become visible fans of the tech billionaire.
A man hangs flags bearing a portrait of tech tycoon Elon Musk during a demonstration called by former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 21, 2024.
Mauro Pimentel | AFP | Getty Images
De Moraes' critics see him as a censor who oversteps his role, while supporters applaud his court's efforts to curb harmful misinformation on the Brazilian internet.
Earlier this year, on April 7, Judge de Moraes opened an investigation against Musk and X Corp. for alleged obstruction of justice.
Although Musk had announced that he would defy the Brazilian court's orders to restrict or block some popular accounts on X, on April 15, the social network's lawyers declared before Brazil's Supreme Court that they would indeed comply with the court's orders.
De Moraes' court is also investigating Musk and X as part of a broader investigation into Brazil's so-called digital militias, individuals accused of spreading misinformation online to attack the country's democratic institutions.
X Corp. was subpoenaed by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee to share information about Brazilian court orders on content moderation. The Republican-controlled committee, which is concerned about censorship, released information about Brazilian court orders ordering X to block or remove around 150 user accounts from its platform in recent years.
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