After criticizing the minister for “censorship”, the businessman will have his conduct investigated for criminal organization and incitement to crime
Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), ordered this Sunday (April 7, 2024) the opening of an investigation to investigate the conduct of the owner of X (formerly Twitter), Elon Musk. The magistrate wants the crimes of obstruction of justice to be investigated, “including criminal organization and incitement to crime”.
According to the decision, on Saturday (April 6), the businessman “started a disinformation campaign about the actions of the STF and TSE [Tribunal Superior Eleitoral]which was reiterated on April 7th, instigating disobedience and obstruction of justice”. . . . This is in its entirety (PDF – 161 kB).
Musk made comments calling Moraes’ actions “draconianas” e “totalitarian”accusing him of committing a “aggressive censorship” by demanding personal data from users and content moderation. The businessman also threatened to suspend X do Brasil and said he would publicize the minister’s demands that he says violate Brazilian laws.
Regarding the actions of the owner of X, the STF minister stated that the practices constitute “indications of intent, in the criminal instrumentalization previously identified and investigated in several investigations”.
In addition to the new investigation, Elon Musk was also included as being investigated in the digital militias inquiry, for the alleged “criminal instrumentalization” do X. Read more in this report.
MUSK X MORAES
Elon Musk asked in the early hours of Saturday (April 6) why Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), “No Brazil demands so much censorship”. The businessman responded to a publication by the minister in X on January 11th.
Musk’s comment came following accusations made by North American journalist Michael Shellenberger on Wednesday (April 3). According to Shellenberger, the minister has “led a case of broad freedom of expression in Brazil”.
Critical comments escalated the tone. Musk called the minister “tyrant”, “totalitarian” and said he should “resign or be impeached”.
In an official note, “are not in accordance with the Marco Civil da Internet or the Federal Constitution of Brazil”. Musk did not say which profiles he would put back online.
Until the publication of this report, Minister Alexandre de Moraes –who has his own profile on X– had not publicly commented on Musk’s statements.
To the Poder360the STF press office informed that the Supreme Court will not comment on the case.
TWITTER FILES BRAZIL
On Wednesday (April 3), American journalist Michael Shellenberger published an alleged exchange of emails between employees of the legal sector of X in Brazil between 2020 and 2022 talking about requests and court orders received regarding content of their users.
The messages would show requests from various instances of the Brazilian Judiciary requesting personal data from users who used hashtags about the electoral process and content moderation.
Shellenberger specifically criticized STF (Supreme Federal Court) minister Alexandre de Moraes, criticizing him for “leading a case of broad repression of freedom of expression in Brazil”. According to him, Moraes issued decisions by the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) that “threaten democracy in Brazil” when asking for interventions in publications by members of the National Congress and personal account data – which would violate the platform’s guidelines. The records of the processes mentioned in the case are confidential.
The case was named “Twitter Files Brazil” in reference to the “Twitter Files” originally published in 2022, after Musk purchased X, in October of that year.
At the time, Musk delivered material to journalists that indicated how the social network, in the 2020 North American elections, collaborated with United States authorities to block users and suppress stories involving the son of the country’s presidential candidate Joe Biden.
The files published by journalists include email exchanges that reveal, to some extent, how Twitter reacted to requests from governments to intervene in the policy of publishing and removing content. In some cases, the social network ended up giving in.
In the Brazilian case, Musk was not indicated as the source who provided the material, however, the businessman criticized Moraes for a few days. Read the top comments:
Read more:
Source: https://www.poder360.com.br/justica/moraes-abre-inquerito-contra-musk-para-apurar-obstrucao-a-justica/
