Why is Brazil investigating Elon Musk?

Elon Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” ran afoul of Brazilian law when the X CEO refused to restrict X accounts, spreading what the Brazilian Supreme Court calls “disinformation” regarding former right-wing President Jair Bolsanaro’s attempt to overturn the Brazilian election in 2022.

The tension is between Musk and the controversial Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has been instrumental in what de Moraes characterizes as an effort to combat misinformation, according to The Washington Post. On Saturday, April 6, 2024, Musk announced he would no longer restrict accounts targeted by de Moraes’ effort, calling it “aggressive censorship” from the Brazilian government.

In response, de Moraes issued a court order calling for Musk to be investigated for obstruction of justice, The Guardian reported. Referring to the de Moraes court order and Musk’s refusal to comply, Brazilian Federal Solicitor General Jorge Messias stated,

“We cannot live in a society in which billionaires domiciled abroad have control of social networks and put themselves in a position to violate the rule of law, failing to comply with court orders and threatening our authorities. Social peace is non-negotiable.”

via The Guardian

Musk explained his rationale on Overton Live

Days after Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ court order, Elon Musk appeared on Overton Live from the Overton News Network to explain his side of the story. “We kept getting these demands,” Musk said, to suspend accounts within hours or face massive fines equaling $20,000 per account. The final straw, Musk said, was when X was ordered to suspend accounts of members of parliament and journalists. “Moreover, we could not tell them this was at the behest of [De Moraes], but we had to pretend this was due to our rules of service,” the tech CEO added.

In the past, Musk had also threatened to publish legal documents proving the Brazilian government’s attempt at censorship and that also provide proof, he said, that Brazilian courts interfered in the 2022 election. Musk had previously written that what de Moraes’ has asked, ” … [A]re the most draconian demands of any country on Earth!”

Musk is willing to lose the Brazilian market

At the time of this writing, it’s unclear what the outcome might be, but one possible consequence of the Musk obstruction of justice investigation is that X could get shut down in Brazil. De Moraes had banned Telegram, a messaging app, for similar reasons. Brazil is a large market for social media, but Musk said he’s willing to take that risk for what he sees as a free-speech issue. He also called for Brazilians to use virtual private networks, or VPNs, to access X should a government crackdown happen.

On Jan. 8, 2023, supporters of former President Jair Bolsanaro attacked the Brazilian Congress in an uprising many compare to the January 6, 2021, uprising of Trump supporters in Washington, D.C., over allegations of election fraud that remain unproven. After the Musk obstruction of justice investigation was announced, Bolsanaro said Brazil’s “freedoms” were “largely” in Musk’s hands.