Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X, is facing an investigation for obstruction of justice in Brazil. Supreme Court Justice Alexander de Moraes accused Musk of disobeying his order to keep certain accounts suspended.
Musk reactivated the accounts and accused Justice Moraes of violating freedom of speech. In a X post on Sunday, Musk stated that Moraes “brazenly and repeatedly” betrayed the constitution and the Brazilian people.
The Justice responded by ordering Twitter to suspend the accounts again and threatened a fine of 100,000 reais (approximately $18,220.87 USD) per day if they fail to comply.
Messias wrote in a X post:
“We cannot live in a society where foreign-based billionaires control our social networks and can freely violate our rule of law, disobey court decisions, and threaten our institutions.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also weighed in, expressing his support for Moraes.
Attorney General Jorge Messias called for regulation of social media to prevent the spread of disinformation.
The situation is tense and will have implications for freedom of speech on social media in Brazil.
Photo: JD Lasica from Pleasanton, CA, US, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
