Brazil’s Supreme Court said on Monday that every company operating in the country is “subject to the constitution”, after justice Alexandre de Moraes launched an inquiry into Elon Musk.
The country’s Chief Justice Roberto Barroso added that court decisions may be subject to appeal, per a report by Reuters.
The statement from the Brazilian judge, who did not mention X or any other company by name, comes after a standoff between X, formerly Twitter owner, Elon Musk and the supreme court escalated. The inquiry into Musk was launched after he said he would activate accounts on the social media platform that judge Moraes had ordered to be blocked.
“X shall refrain from disobeying any court order already issued, including performing any profile reactivation that has been blocked by the Supreme Court,” he said.
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Musk claimed the restrictions were unconstitutional and announced that X would lift them. Musk, in a post on X, accused Moraes of betraying the constitution and people of Brazil and even called for him to resign.
In response, Moraes emphasized in his ruling that X must adhere to all court orders, or face fines of 100,000 reais ($19,740/₹16,43,297) per day.
Moraes is investigating “digital militias” that have been accused of spreading fake news and hate messages during the government of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, and is also leading an investigation into an alleged coup attempt by Bolsonaro.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government is supporting Moraes, and the Solicitor General is calling for regulation of social media to prevent foreign platforms from violating Brazilian laws.
Neither Musk nor Brazilian authorities have disclosed which social media accounts were ordered blocked.
Musk’s stance has led to potential consequences for X in Brazil, including the loss of revenue and possible office shutdown. Musk vowed to legally contest the order blocking X accounts despite the challenges.
