Over the weekend, Elon Musk’s platform X, formerly known as Twitter, experienced a significant shake-up in Brazil, culminating in the termination of approximately 40 employees. The announcement, made on Saturday the 17th, pointed to Alexandre de Moraes, Minister of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF), as the catalyst for this decision.
Notably, the Minister had previously blocked accounts and profiles on the platform that violated Brazilian law, with non-compliance incurring a hefty daily fine of R$50,000. In light of these actions, the company issued a statement emphasizing their priority: “To ensure the safety of our team, we have made the difficult decision to cease our operations in Brazil immediately. The X service remains available to the Brazilian public. We deeply regret having to take this step.”
Earlier in April, Musk had already hinted at a potential shutdown of the platform’s Brazilian office in response to Moraes’ rulings. He expressed his discontent with the increasing demands for censorship in Brazil, stating, “Given these circumstances, we’re likely to lose all revenue from Brazil and will have no choice but to close our office there. However, principles matter more than profit.”
