Alexandre de Moraes orders investigation of Elon Musk for threatening to disregard court orders

the owner of X (old Twitter), Elon Musk, did not spare words when challenging Alexandre de Moraes, minister of Supreme Court, in this weekend. In Musk's opinion, Moraes would be exercising censorship by ordering the suspension of accounts related to X for spreading fake news.

The insults continued, and at one point, Musk called the minister a Brazilian Darth Vader. According to him, the demands requested by Alexandre violate Brazilian legislation, and represent a threat to freedom of expression. 

"Coming soon, ð • will publish everything that is required by @Alexandre and how these requests violate Brazilian law.

This judge has blatantly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and the people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached.

Shame @Alexandre, shame.”

Still using the argument of freedom of expression, Musk said that he will probably lose revenue from Brazil, and that they will have to close their offices in the country, but that even so, principles are more important than profit, generating commotion among many of his 180 million followers. One of the journalists involved in the case even added that “Elon Musk is the only thing stopping global totalitarianism."

Moraes includes Musk in investigations into digital militias

None of Musk's statements shook Alexandre de Moraes, who last night (07/04) included the owner of X in the investigation into Digital Militias, and also opened an investigation to investigate whether the big businessman committed crimes of incitement to crime, criminal organization and obstruction of justice. 

The Digital Militias inquiry investigates actions orchestrated on networks to disseminate false information and hate speech, with the aim of undermining institutions and democracy.

The STF also stipulated a fine of R$100 for each blocked profile that X irregularly reactivates. Elon Musk case carry out your threats and disobey the order, here are some Twitter accounts that have generated controversy in recent years and may return: 

• Luciano Hang, Bolsonaro businessman and owner of Havan;
• Robert Jefferson, former deputy arrested for undemocratic acts;
• Monarch, extremist influencer;

The banning of these accounts was a result of investigations by the Digital Militias, for which Alexandre de Morais is the rapporteur. It is no surprise that such profiles were blocked after being actively linked to the dissemination of bad news and attacks on Brazilian democracy. 

Even with evidence of the involvement of these figures in harmful behavior, an American reporter cited what happened as a simple implication: “Morais illegally demanded that Twitter reveal personal details about Twitter users who used hashtags he didn't like" said Michael Shellenberger on X.

The only objective of the inquiry is to regulate the use of social networks to prevent improper and undemocratic use, as said by the Union's Attorney General, Jorge Messias. And to add to the decision to include Elon Musk in the investigation, Alexandre de Moraes stressed: “SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT A LAWLESS LAND! SOCIAL MEDIA IS NO MAN’S LAND!“, in caps lock. 

However, none of this intimidated businessman Elon Musk, who posted a post on his Twitter that made fun of statements about Fake News:

"[Scene: @Alexandre and @ElonMusk in psychoanalysis]

I say: “Tell me, Alexandre, is disinformation in the room with us now?"

And even more: observing the movement, Elon Musk has been publishing tutorials on how to download a VPN to use Twitter irregularly.

Anatel is already ready to comply with a possible removal of Twitter from the air, as in Brazil, a court order is required to remove the platform. After this determination, the telecommunications companies are responsible for carrying out the blocking.

The judiciary's fight against the spread of fake news

This war is nothing new. In March 2019, the then president of the STF, Dias Toffoli, opened the first investigation to investigate attacks on the Court, its ministers and their families, perpetrated through fake news, defamation and threats. Appointed by Toffoli as rapporteur, judge Alexandre de Moraes led the investigations. 

Among those investigated are individuals linked to President Jair Bolsonaro, including his supporters and allies, such as businessman Luciano Hang, owner of Havan, federal deputy Roberto Jefferson (PTB-RJ), blogger and founder of the website Terça Livre, Allan dos Santos, as well as 13 other influencers, businesspeople and individuals linked to the case.

The request from the PGR (Attorney General's Office) in April 2020 resulted in the opening of the original investigation, aiming to identify the organizers and financiers of a series of protests that called for the closure of Congress, the STF and the return of the military dictatorship. 

The targets of this initial investigation were former Communications Minister Fábio Wajngarten, blogger Allan dos Santos and businessman Otávio Fakhoury. During this process, activist Sara Winter and YouTuber Oswaldo Eustáquio were temporarily detained.

Find out more about this and other news at Showmetech TRIO, your weekly news trio:

Read also

OpenAI responds to Elon Musk and says that billionaire lied in the process

Text proofread by: Pedro Bomfim