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Elon Musk (in June 2023)
Photo: Gonzalo Fuentes / REUTERS
His provocations against Judge Alexandre de Moraes of the Brazilian Supreme Court have legal repercussions for tech billionaire Elon Musk. An investigation was launched against the businessman in the South American country.
There is evidence of obstruction of justice and incitement to crime, the television station TV Globo reported on Sunday, citing court documents. Moraes is conducting several proceedings in Brazil, including against so-called digital militias, which are said to have spread false information and hate speech on social networks, especially during the term of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022).
As part of the investigation, Moraes ordered the closure of several suspect accounts on Musk's messaging platform X, formerly Twitter.
That didn't cause Musk much enthusiasm. “This judge has shamelessly and repeatedly betrayed the Constitution and the Brazilian people,” he wrote on X over the weekend. “He should resign or be removed. Shame on you, Alexandre, shame." He also threatened to publish details of the order to block the X accounts, something the Supreme Court had previously banned.
Clear message to Musk – with the threat of a fine
Musk sees himself as a defender of free speech. However, his network was recently used in Brazil to mobilize for anti-democratic actions. A group in Bolsonaro's presidential office is said to have organized smear campaigns against political opponents and cast doubt on the Brazilian electoral system.
“Social networks are not a legal vacuum,” Judge Moraes wrote in his investigative order, according to media reports. According to information from TV Globo, if
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