Tech titan Elon Musk has reportedly complied with demands made by the Brazilian Supreme Court surrounding the operation of the X platform in the country in the culmination of a weeks-long row that has sparked debate over freedom of expression and the role of governments and large social media companies in moderating online discourse.
“Elon Musk has backed down and complied with a Brazilian judge’s orders that he appoint a legal representative for X,” reported the Financial Times, citing court documents examined by the media outlet. X has also reportedly agreed to suspend several accounts cited by the court for generating disinformation and extremist content.
The move comes after Musk repeatedly refused to remove the accounts late last month in a highly visible spat with Brazilian Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes. Musk’s intransigence led to X being blocked in the Latin American country of 212 million.
“One day this picture of you in prison will be real. Mark my words,” Musk wrote to the Brazilian justice on X, attaching a photoshopped image of Moraes in jail before replying with an image of toilet paper bearing the judge’s name.
X finally announced the company would appoint an official legal representative for the company, a requirement of doing business under Brazilian law.
Musk has fashioned himself as a free speech champion amid Western governments’ increasing concern over online disinformation, which recently culminated in legislation set to effectively ban the platform TikTok in the United States. But self-reported data from X reveals Musk has actually complied with more court orders and government takedown requests than the website’s previous owners.
(Sputnik)