A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an investigation into Elon Musk’s recent remarks regarding reactivating accounts on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
This comes after the judge had previously ordered the blocking of said accounts.
According to Mr. Musk’s post on the platform, he stated that the restrictions had been lifted due to the court order being deemed unconstitutional.
In addition, he urged Justice Alexandre de Moraes to step down or face impeachment.
If X fails to comply with the order, they will be subject to a daily fine of 100,000 reais ($19,774; £15,670).
According to Justice Moraes, Mr. Elon Musk was accused of initiating a campaign to spread false information about the Supreme Court.
The company’s Global Government Affairs team stated that they were unable to disclose the specific accounts that were impacted.
However, Mr. Musk has recently shared that “X will release all the information requested by [Moraes] and shed light on how those requests go against Brazilian law.”
It is believed that the profiles were associated with far-right movements that shared content about the riots on 8 January last year. During these events, thousands of supporters of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country’s Congress, the Supreme Court, and the presidential palace.
Justice Moraes rose to prominence due to his rulings that placed restrictions on social media platforms within the country.
He is currently looking into Mr Bolsonaro and his supporters for their alleged involvement in an attempted coup d’état.
Over the weekend, the ex-president shared a video showcasing a meeting he had with Mr. Musk back in May 2022.
Earlier in the day, Mr Bolsonaro urged his supporters to come together on April 21.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s communication minister Paulo Pimenta expressed his criticism of Mr. Musk, emphasizing that “social networks are not a lawless land” in a strongly worded statement.
“No one, no matter their wealth or influence, will be permitted to disrespect our homeland,” he emphasized.
According to Bruna Santos, the global campaigns manager at the non-profit organization Digital Action, the platform could be temporarily blocked if X chooses to disobey the order.
“Musk’s actions were intended to incite the Brazilian judiciary,” she stated. “There is a genuine possibility that X could face obstruction.”
