Social media platform X, formerly Twitter, will shutter its local operations in

Brazil following a bitter legal tussle over the platform’s rights and

responsibilities, owner Elon Musk.

The service will remain available to Brazilian users, while, the closure was the

apparent culmination of an ongoing legal battle between Musk and Brazilian

Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who said he is trying to fight the

spread of dangerous disinformation online.

A post Saturday from X’s Global Government Affairs department said Moraes

had “threatened our legal representative in Brazil with arrest if we do not

comply with his censorship orders, adding that, the office closure was

necessary “to protect the safety of the staff,” while, “the responsibility lies

solely with Alexandre de Moraes.”

The Brazilian government was critical of X’s stance, with Secretary of Digital

Policies Joao Brant writing on the platform that the company had a “pathetic

attitude” adding that, X would force a “probable escalation that could lead to

blocking of the platform, while, Moraes previously had ordered the

suspension of several Twitter accounts suspected of spreading

disinformation, including those of supporters of former far-right president

Jair Bolsonaro, who tried to discredit the voting system in the 2022

presidential election, which he lost.

Moraes has spearheaded the battle against disinformation in South

America’s largest nation, and he presides over Brazil’s Superior Electoral

Tribunal, and last year it declared Bolsonaro ineligible to run again for office,

saying he had disseminated false information about the electoral system,

while, Musk and other critics have said Moraes is part of a sweeping

crackdown on free speech.