X has announced that X close its office in Brazil. The reason is, legal threats made against representatives of the company. One of the Supreme Court justices, Alexandre de Moraes, was reported to have threatened to arrest one of the legal representatives of X. This was after X refused to delete some of the content as ordered.
X chose to close the office in Brazil rather than abide by what it described as “censorship orders.” According to Reuters, this step was to protect its staff. Even with that, the X service will continue to be available in Brazil. However, the company is no longer willing to operate an office in that country.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, called de Moraes out publicly over his actions. Musk said that complying with the demands would require breaching several laws, including Brazilian and international laws. He added that the closure of the office in Brazil was a tough decision but one that was very necessary.
It also mentioned that its appeals to the Supreme Court fell on deaf ears. The company said that its staff in Brazil had no say over the blocking decisions. As opposed to pursuing the proper legal channels, however, de Moraes chose to threaten the staff.
This conflict marks a high point in the emerging tensions between X and the government of Brazil. The choice made by X to hold staff safety above compliance with local orders could have far-reaching implications for its global operations.
