Brasilia [Brazil], April 8: The same Brazilian Supreme Court judge that Mr. Elon Musk criticized ordered an investigation into this billionaire, saying 'social networks are not a land without law'.
Reuters reported that Judge Alexandre de Moraes of the Brazilian Supreme Court on April 7 ordered an investigation into billionaire Elon Musk for obstruction of justice related to social network X (formerly Twitter). according to court documents.
In an order seen by AFP, judge Moraes accused Mr Musk , the owner of X, of "instrumentalizing X in an extremely wrongful manner".
Mr. Moraes asked "X not to disobey any orders that the Brazilian Supreme Court has issued, including reactivating accounts that the Brazilian Supreme Court has ordered to block," according to AFP. The judge also threatened that if X did not comply with the request, the company would be fined up to nearly 20,000 USD for each reopened account.
"Social networks are not a lawless land," Mr. Moraes wrote in capital letters in his order.
Earlier on April 7, Mr. Musk called for Mr. Moraes' dismissal if the judge did not resign, accusing him of censorship for ordering X to block accounts suspected of spreading false information.
"This judge has blatantly and continuously betrayed the constitution and the Brazilian people. He should resign or be dismissed," the billionaire said.
Starting on the evening of April 6, Mr. Musk used X to attack the Brazilian Supreme Court judge. According to Mr. Musk, due to Mr. Moraes' threat to "block access" to the platform, "we will likely lose all of our revenue in Brazil and have to close our offices there."
"But principles are more important than profits," the billionaire said. Mr. Musk argued that Mr. Moraes' request was unconstitutional and on April 7 announced that X would lift such restrictions.
Mr. Moraes is one of 11 judges of the Brazilian Supreme Court and is famous for being the recipient of conflicting opinions in the country's judiciary. He also chairs the country's High Electoral Tribunal (TSE).
The judge is a leader in the fight against misinformation in Brazil. In recent years, Mr. Moraes has ordered the accounts of influential social media figures to be blocked, most of whom are supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro .
In 2023, Mr. Bolsonaro was declared ineligible to run for election by TSE for spreading false information about Brazil's electoral system.
Mr. Bolsonaro is also being investigated for a coup plot to prevent his defeat by the current leader, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in the 2022 election. Mr. Bolsonaro's supporters stormed headquarters of the three branches of power (legislative, executive and judicial) in the capital Brasilia.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
