X will pull back all remaining staff in Brazil “effective immediately,” though the company said the service will continue to be available to Brazilian citizens. The company did not clarify how it could claim to have suspended operations while still serving Brazilians.
Earlier this year, the company confronted De Moraes over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation on X. The company said his most recent orders amounted to censorship and shared a copy of the document on X.
The Supreme Court press office did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment from The Associated Press or anyone else seeking confirmation of the document’s veracity Saturday.
In the United States, freedom of speech is a far more permissive constitutional right than in many countries, including Brazil, where de Moraes ordered an investigation in April into CEO Elon Musk for spreading defamatory fake news and another probe for possible obstruction, incitement and criminal organization.
Brazil’s political right has long characterized De Moraes as someone who has overstepped his bounds by repressing freedom of expression and engaging in political persecution.
Whether investigating former President Jair Bolsonaro, banishing his far-right allies from social media or ordering the arrest of supporters who stormed government buildings on January 8, 2023, de Moraes has aggressively pursued those he sees as undermining Brazil’s young democracy.
“Moraes has chosen to threaten our staff in Brazil rather than respect the law or due process,” the company said in a statement on X.
In a tweet on Saturday morning, self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” and owner of X, Musk, said de Moraes “is an absolute disgrace to justice.”
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