Elon Musk attacks Brazil’s top judge X, faces ban, Starlink financial freeze | Wilnesh News

Tesla, SpaceX and X Corp. leader Elon Musk on Thursday stepped up online attacks on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the tech billionaire The political and legal battle between his company and Brazil’s Supreme Court is getting increasingly intense.

Demorais court announced Wednesday It ordered Musk and X Corp. to appoint a legal representative in Brazil for the social media company, formerly known as Twitter, within 24 hours, otherwise X would face “the penalty of suspension of activities” in Brazil.

X’s suspension in Brazil could create serious business problems for the already troubled social network. Brazil’s population exceeds 171 million According to market data, active social media users Oscar’s research.

The country is preparing for municipal elections in October. Under Brazilian law, social networks there must employ people who can receive and consider government takedown notices about political misinformation.

X has no such employees in Brazil after it said earlier this month it would pull all employees out of the country.

On Wednesday night, Musk posted a manipulated image that appeared to show the judge behind bars. “One day, @Alexandre, this picture of you in jail will become a reality. Mark my words,” Musk wrote to de Moraes and Musk’s 195.8 million followers listed on X.

On Thursday, reports from G1 Globo Brazil It has been revealed that De Moraes has ordered the freezing of “all financial assets” of Musk’s companies in Brazil (including SpaceX’s Starlink) to “guarantee the payment of the fine imposed by the court on X.”

“Earlier this week, we received an order from a Brazilian Supreme Court judge @Alexander De Morais froze Starlink’s finances and prevented Starlink from conducting financial transactions in the country,” the company said in a post late Wednesday.

“This order is based on an unfounded decision that Starlink should be responsible for the fine imposed on Due legal process. We intend to resolve this issue through legal means.”

Starlink is a satellite internet service operated by SpaceX. It is currently approved for commercial operations in 105 countries, including Brazil. Starlink has advertised on X under Musk’s management, and Musk has encouraged Brazilians to use Starlink to access X.

Representatives for Musk, X Corp. CEO Linda Yaccarino and SpaceX did not respond to CNBC’s requests for more information Thursday afternoon.

In a post on X on Thursday, Musk called DeMorais a “complete criminal” who was just “posing as a judge.” who. Jair Bolsonaro, elected President of Brazil.

Bolsonaro is a long-time ally of Musk, and his government gave Musk the rights to operate Starlink in Brazil and awarded Musk a medal in recognition of his contributions to the country. Bolsonaro’s right-wing supporters Become a visible fan For tech billionaires.

De Morais’s critics argued that he was a censor who went beyond the scope of his duties. Supporters praised his court’s efforts to stop harmful misinformation online in Brazil.

Earlier this year, on April 7, Judge De Morais launched an investigation into Musk and X Corp. on suspicion of obstruction of justice.

Although Musk announced that he would ignore Brazilian court orders to restrict or suspend some popular accounts on X, by April 15, lawyers representing the social network told Brazil’s Supreme Court that they would in fact comply with the court’s order.

De Moraes’ court is also investigating Musk and X as part of a broader investigation into Brazil’s so-called digital militias, who are accused of spreading misinformation online with the aim of attacking the country’s democratic institutions.

X Corp. was subpoenaed by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee to share information about Brazilian court orders regarding content moderation. Republican-controlled committee worries about censorship, Post a message In recent years, Brazilian courts have ordered X to suspend or delete approximately 150 user accounts on its platform.