‘Effective immediately’: X shuts down operations in Brazil citing arrest ‘threat’

Social media platform X said on Saturday it was closing operations in Brazil, citing threats from Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

The decision follows what X described as a "secret order" from Moraes, who allegedly threatened to arrest the company's legal representative in Brazil if it did not comply with censorship demands.

In a statement by X's Global Government Affairs, the company said that despite numerous appeals to the Brazilian Supreme Court, its concerns had gone unheard.

"Despite our numerous appeals to the Supreme Court not being heard, the Brazilian public not being informed about these orders and our Brazilian staff having no responsibility or control over whether content is blocked on our platform, Moraes has chosen to threaten our staff in Brazil rather than respect the law or due process."

"As a result, to protect the safety of our staff, we have made the decision to close our operation in Brazil, effective immediately."

However, the X service will remain accessible to users in Brazil.

"We are deeply saddened that we have been forced to make this decision. The responsibility lies solely with Alexandre de Moraes. His actions are incompatible with democratic government," the statement concluded, urging the Brazilian public to choose between "democracy, or Alexandre de Moraes."