X suspends business in Brazil

X, previously known as Twitter, recently shut down its office in Brazil amid a heated dispute over censorship.

In a recent development, a Brazilian Supreme Court judge, Alexandre de Moraes, allegedly made a solid statement to the legal representative of a popular social media platform.

The judge claimed to have threatened the representative with arrest if the platform did not adhere to his "censorship orders."

The Supreme Court of Brazil has not provided any official statements.

According to a statement released on Saturday, Brazilian residents can still access X, the platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk.

As part of an ongoing investigation, Mr. Moraes has issued an order to block several accounts he alleges are involved in spreading disinformation.

These accounts, primarily consisting of supporters of the former right-wing president Jair Bolsanaro, will remain blocked until the investigation is complete.

Following criticism from X owner Musk, a judge ruled that imposed fines of 100,000 reais ($19,774; £15,670) per day for any reactivated account belonging to X.

The judge also emphasized the potential legal consequences for the company's representatives in Brazil if such reactivations were to occur.

In addition, Mr. Musk is currently being investigated for various charges, including obstruction of justice.

In a statement, X claimed that the Brazilian staff had no responsibility or control over blocking content. However, Mr. Moraes has threatened the Brazilian staff instead of abiding by the law.

"To ensure the safety of our staff, we have made the immediate decision to close our operation in Brazil," X announced.

"The entire responsibility rests on Alexandre de Moraes."

"The actions displayed by this individual are not in line with the principles of democratic governance."

In a recent post on X, Musk made a clear statement regarding Moraes' departure, leaving no room for doubt.

In a statement, he acknowledged that the choice to shut down the office in Brazil was challenging. However, he emphasized that if the company were to comply with Mr. Moraes' requests, there would be no plausible explanation for their actions that wouldn't leave them feeling ashamed.

Mr. Moraes has garnered significant criticism from supporters of the former president, Mr. Bolsonaro. Throughout his time in office, he initiated inquiries into several close associates of the president.