Elon Musk accused of “criminal exploitation of X” in a Brazilian justice investigation
A judge of the Supreme Court of Brazil ordered this Sunday, April 7, the opening of an investigation against Elon Musk, owner of the X platform (formerly Twitter), who accused him of “
censorship
” and demanded his resignation during repeated attacks on this social network since Saturday.
In a legal ruling, magistrate Alexandre de Moraes spoke of an alleged “criminal exploitation of X” on the part of billionaire Elon Musk. © Gonzalo Fuentes / Reuters
By: RFI with AFP
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In a legal ruling consulted by AFP, magistrate Alexandre de Moraes spoke of an alleged “
criminal exploitation of X
” on the part of the billionaire, who is also boss of Space X and Tesla. He also ordered “
social
network
18,300 euros - per reactivated profile.
In recent years, this judge himself ordered the blocking of accounts on X, some being suspected of spreading disinformation. “
Social networks are not lawless lands!
“, he insisted, in capital letters, in his legal ruling.
A lifting of restrictions and a request for dismissal of the judge
On the evening of Saturday
,
April 6, Elon Musk began a series of attacks on
“
We will probably lose all our revenue in Brazil and have to close our offices there. But principles are more important than profit
,” he insisted.
On Sunday, he returned to the charge, saying that Judge Alexandre de Moraes should “
resign or be dismissed
” for having “
brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the Constitution and the people of Brazil
”.
A call to “
urgently regulate social networks
”
A divisive figure for some and a fervent defender of democracy for others, Alexandre de Moraes is one of the eleven members of the Brazilian Supreme Court. He also chairs the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE). Spearheading the fight against disinformation in Brazil, he ordered the blocking of accounts of influential figures on social networks, most of them being sympathizers of ex-far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.
Shortly after the first attacks by the Tesla boss against the judge on Saturday, Jorge Messias, the attorney general of the Union, responsible for defending the interests of the Lula government, called for “
urgently regulating social networks
”. “
We cannot live in a society where billionaires who live abroad control social media and are willing to violate the rule of law, disobeying judicial orders and threatening our authorities
,” he said. -he added on X, without mentioning Elon Musk by name.
Read alsoElon Musk, the boss of X, defends the Austrian extremist Martin Sellner
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