A Brazilian court has charged X owner Elon Musk with obstruction of justice after the billionaire refused to deactivate the accounts of several prominent conservative activists.
On Saturday, X announced it was ordered by a Brazilian court to unplug the accounts. The court has yet to release the list, and X said it’s barred from saying which accounts are affected or for what reasons.
X adamantly refused the order in a public post.
“We believe that such orders are not in accordance with the Marco Civil da Internet or the Brazilian Federal Constitution, and we challenge the orders legally where possible,” X’s Global Government Affairs account posted. “The people of Brazil, regardless of their political beliefs, are entitled to freedom of speech, due process and transparency from their own authorities.”
According to reports from the Brazilian newspaper Estadao, the list includes conservative influencers like Allan dos Santos, Bruno Aiub and Luciano Hang, who have all spoken out against Brazil’s Supreme Court and President Lula da Silva.
Mr. Musk has argued that the orders from the Brazilian court are “draconian” and has explicitly called for the removal of Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Mr. Musk and X’s stance on censorship of right-wing voices in Brazil contrasts the company’s position on state-mandated censorship in other countries. Last year, a study from the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University found that Mr. Musk’s X complied with more government censorship requests than the previous owners. In February, X consented to India’s government and blocked the accounts of two U.S.-based nonprofits that track religiously motivated violence in India.