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Elon Musk bought Twitter (now called X) in 2022
- author, Mariko Oi
- role, business reporter
A judge at Brazil's Supreme Court has launched an investigation into Elon Musk after he said he would reactivate his account on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), which a judge ordered him to block.
Mr. Mask posted on the platform It argued that the restrictions were lifted because the court order violated the constitution.
He also called Judge Alexandre de Moraes should resign or be impeached.
If X fails to comply with the order, he will be fined 100,000 reais ($19,774, £15,670) per day.
Judge Moraes wrote in his ruling that Musk had launched a disinformation campaign against the Supreme Court.
The platform's Global Government Affairs team said the company was not allowed to say which accounts were affected.
But Musk later posted, “X will release everything he asked for.” [Moraes] and how those demands violate Brazilian law. ”
These profiles are associated with a far-right movement that posted content related to the January 8 riot last year, when thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country's parliament, Supreme Court, and presidential palace. It is believed that
Judge Moraes attracted attention for his decision to restrict social media platforms in the country.
He is also investigating the role of Bolsonaro and his supporters in the alleged coup attempt.
On Saturday, the former president posted a video of a meeting he had with Musk in May 2022.
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Hours earlier, Bolsonaro also called on his supporters to gather on April 21st.
Meanwhile, Brazilian Communications Minister Paulo Pimenta criticized Musk, writing in capital letters: “Social networks are not lawless zones.”
“We will not tolerate anyone who insults our homeland, regardless of whether they have money or power,” he added.
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If X decides not to comply with the order, the platform could be temporarily blocked, said Bruna Santos, global campaigns manager for the nonprofit organization Digital Action.
“Mr. Musk acted in a way that provoked the Brazilian judiciary,” she said. “I think there's a pretty good chance that X will be blocked.”
Additional reporting by Mariana Schreiber and Joao Da Silva
