Elon Musk, CEO of social media platform X (Twitter), is facing a major crisis in Brazil. Judge Alexandre de Moraes of the Brazilian Supreme Court has given Musk an ultimatum to appoint a legal representative in the country within 24 hours. Otherwise, X’s operations in Latin America’s largest country could be suspended.
Another shutdown threat for X: What will Elon Musk do?
This development comes after X decided to shut down its operations in Brazil for what it described as ‘censorship orders’. In recent months, Brazilian authorities have taken harsh measures against accounts spreading misinformation and hate speech on social media platforms.
Last April, Judge Moraes announced an investigation against Elon Musk for obstruction of justice for refusing to comply with a court order blocking some accounts on the platform. In this sense, the famous businessman is never out of trouble.
This crisis is not limited to Brazil, but is also reverberating across the global tech industry. In particular, it shakes the long-held assumption that platforms and their executives should not be held personally liable for illegal activity on their services.
The arrest in France of Pavel Durov, the billionaire CEO and co-founder of Telegram, has fueled this debate. Durov was detained as part of an investigation into illegal content shared on his platform and released on bail of 5 million euros.
The next 24 hours will be critical not only for the future of X in Brazil, but also for the debate on how social media platforms should be regulated on a global scale. Elon Musk has not yet made a statement on the matter.
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