Elon Musk Criticizes Brazilian Judge Over Threat to Suspend X Platform

Elon Musk has intensified his criticism of a Brazilian Supreme Court judge who has threatened to suspend the social media platform X in Brazil. Musk referred to Justice Alexandre de Moraes as "an evil dictator" in a growing conflict between the two.

Justice de Moraes issued an ultimatum to Musk, demanding that X appoint a new legal representative in Brazil and resolve any outstanding daily fines within 24 hours. Failure to comply would result in the suspension of the platform in the country.

Musk, who had previously compared de Moraes to "Darth Vader," responded on X, stating, “Alexandre de Moraes is an evil dictator pretending to be a judge.” He also retweeted a message from X’s Global Government Affairs team, indicating that they would release the judge's "illegal demands and all related court documents" in the coming days.

Brazil is a significant market for social media, with around 40 million Brazilians, or approximately 18% of the population, using X at least once a month, according to the Associated Press.

This public dispute marks the latest chapter in Musk’s ongoing clash with de Moraes, centered around debates on free speech and alleged misinformation. Earlier this month, X announced its decision to shut down operations and lay off staff in Brazil, citing "censorship orders" from the judge as the reason.

De Moraes had previously ordered X to block several accounts that he claimed were spreading misinformation. The latest statement, signed by de Moraes, was also posted on the Supreme Court’s official X account, tagging both Musk and X’s Global Government Affairs account.

The statement was made public at around 8:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday, giving Musk until Thursday evening to respond.

‘Censorship Orders’

On August 17, X released a detailed statement indicating that it would be forced to cease operations and lay off its Brazilian staff due to de Moraes' “censorship orders.”

“Despite our numerous appeals to the Supreme Court being ignored, the Brazilian public not being informed about these orders, and our Brazilian staff having no control over content moderation, Moraes has chosen to threaten our staff rather than uphold the law or due process,” the X statement read.

“To ensure the safety of our employees, we have decided to close our operations in Brazil immediately. The X service will remain accessible to Brazilians, but we are deeply saddened by this outcome. The responsibility for this situation lies solely with Alexandre de Moraes.”

Later that day, Musk echoed X's official stance, stating that his company had "no choice" but to close operations in Brazil.

“Due to the demands of ‘Justice’ Alexandre de Moraes in Brazil, which would require us to secretly violate Brazilian, Argentinian, American, and international law, X has no choice but to shut down our local operations in Brazil,” Musk posted on X.