X Corp. announced Monday that the company has been formally subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee to provide information on the Brazilian Supreme Court’s orders regarding content moderation.
X Corp. has been formally subpoenaed by the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee to provide information on orders from the Brazilian Supreme Court regarding content moderation.
To comply with its obligations under U.S. law, X Corp. has responded to the Committee.…
— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) April 15, 2024
As American Greatness previously reported, Brazilian Federal Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has in recent weeks pressured X to suspend numerous right-wing accounts, including “sitting members of the Brazilian parliament and many journalists,” according to X owner Elon Musk.
De Moraes said he would entail a fine of twenty thousand dollars per day for every banned person Musk allows to speak.
“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 team posted on April 6. “The people of Brazil, regardless of their political beliefs, are entitled to freedom of speech, due process, and transparency from their own authorities.”
Musk acquired Twitter (now X) in 2022, after complaining that the platform was “undermining Democracy” due to its failure to uphold the principles of free speech.
The Tesla CEO promised to lead the company as a free-speech “absolutist,” and allowed hundreds of deplatformed accounts to come back.
In a series of posts on X, Musk called out De Moraes and said X Corp would not abide by his orders. “These are the most draconian demands of any country on Earth!” Musk said in one post.
“We will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there,” he said in another. “But principles matter more than profit.”
“This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil,” he added. “He should resign or be impeached.”
On April 7, De Moraes announced a criminal investigation into Musk for allegedly spreading disinformation, obstructing justice, and defying his order to block right-wing accounts and “disrespecting Brazil’s sovereignty.”
Last Wednesday, Musk revealed that a House committee had contacted X to inquire about “actions taken in Brazil that were in violation of Brazilian law.”
“There were hundreds, if not thousands. This is getting spicy,” Musk wrote.
X’s Global Government Affairs team said Monday that “to comply with its obligations under U.S. law,” X Corp. had responded to the Committee’s subpoena.
Commenting on the situation, Musk wrote on X: “United States laws prevent 𝕏 from participating in corruption that violates the laws of other countries, which is what Alexandre is demanding that we do.”
American Greatness reached out to the Judiciary Committee for comment. A Committee spokesperson confirmed” X’s post but wouldn’t get into specifics.