Brazil judge opens inquiry to Elon Musk after refusal to block accounts on X

Elon Musk faces inquiry in Brazil over social media dispute with Supreme Court judge, escalating standoff.

A standoff between Elon Musk and Brazil escalated on April 7 when a Supreme Court judge opened an inquiry into the billionaire after Mr. Musk said he would reactivate accounts on the social media platform X that the judge had ordered blocked.

Mr. Musk, the owner of X and a self-declared free speech absolutist, has challenged Justice Alexandre de Moraes‘ decision ordering the blocking of certain accounts. He has said X, formerly known as Twitter, would lift all the restrictions because they were unconstitutional and called on Justice Moraes to resign.

Also read: Is the freedom of speech absolute?

Neither Musk, X nor Brazilian authorities have disclosed which social media accounts were ordered blocked. X first posted about the order to block on April 6 but it was not immediately clear when the order was issued.

Justice Moraes is investigating "digital militias" that have been accused of spreading fake news and hate messages during the government of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and is also leading an investigation into an alleged coup attempt by Mr. Bolsonaro.

Mr. Musk said in a post on X accused Justice Moraes of "brazenly and repeatedly" betraying the constitution and people of Brazil. "This judge has applied massive fines, threatened to arrest our employees and cut off access to X in Brazil," he said in the post. "As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there. But principles matter more than profit."

The billionaire had pledged to legally challenge the order blocking X accounts where possible.