- Elon Musk challenged a court decision ordering X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, to block certain popular accounts.
- A Judge of Brazil’s Supreme Court opened an inquiry into Elon Musk for his remarks about the incident on X.
- Chief Justice of the court said that court orders can be appealed but not intentionally violated.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has ordered an investigation into Elon Musk, the owner of the social platform X, due to his refusal to block certain accounts. The court said that all the companies in Brazil are subject to the constitution.
Musk attacked the decision made by Moraes
Musk stated that the company would lift all the restrictions and reactive accounts that were ordered blocked on X. In an X post last Saturday, he accused Moraes of violating the constitution, adding that the judge threatened to arrest the company’s employees and cut off access to X in Brazil.
He said that the order could lead to a total loss of revenue and shut down of the offices in Brazil, and the company would face daily fines if it fails to comply the order.
Musk’s remarks on X led to an investigation into alleged obstruction of justice. While he still insisted that he would stick to his principles. He also encouraged Brazilian netizens to download a VPN (virtual private network) to access the platform on Monday.
Also read: X changes course, gives away blue ticks to popular users for free
Also read: Musk: X will soon receive payment licenses in New York
The Brazilian government supported Moraes’ decision
Roberto Barroso, the chief justice of Brazil’s Supreme Court state that “any and all companies operating in Brazil are subject to the Federal Constitution, the laws and decisions of the Brazilian authorities.” He also said that the court had acted and will keep acting to protect Brazil’s institutions.
Brazil’s Institutional Relations Minister Alexandre Padilha said on X that Musk’s attack on Moraes is “unacceptable”. He believed that Musk’s attack on Moraes also took a swipe at the Supreme Court and all those who defend the sovereignty of the country.
