Elon Musk’s X to shut operations in Brazil amid bitter legal fight
Al Jazeera
Social media platform says shutdown ‘effective immediately’ but Brazilian users will still have access to X.
Social media giant X has announced it will shutter its operations in Brazil following a legal tussle with a top Brazilian judge over the platform’s rights and responsibilities to counter disinformation.
The platform, previously known as Twitter, said on Saturday the shutdown was “effective immediately” but that Brazilian users would still have access to X.
“We are deeply saddened that we have been forced to make this decision,” the company said, adding that responsibility for the decision “lies solely” with Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes.
The move is the apparent culmination of a continuing legal battle between Moraes, who has said he is trying to fight the spread of disinformation online, and Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X.
Earlier this year, Moraes ordered X to block certain accounts accused of spreading false news and hate messages, including some belonging to supporters of Brazil’s former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.
