Elon Musk calls for impeachment of Brazil judge after X ban

Tech billionaire labels Judge Moraes a ‘dictator’ ahead of court vote

Elon Musk wrote in a post to X on 1 September 2024 Brazil judge Alexandre Moraes should be impeached after the platform was suspended in the country (Getty Images)

Elon Musk has called for a Brazilian judge to be impeached after his app X was banned in the country.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled to shut down the social media platform last week after X failed to appoint a new legal representative before a court-imposed deadline.

Mr Musk responded to the ruling by labelling Judge Moraes a “dictator”, claiming that it goes against freedom of speech and constitutes unjustified censorship.

“He should be impeached for violating his oath of office,” Mr Musk wrote on X on Monday.

“Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes.”

A Supreme Court panel of five judges in Brazil is set to vote on Judge Moraes’ ruling on Monday, though the ban is already in place.

It was introduced over the weekend after Judge Moraes gave the country’s National Telecommunications Agency 24 hours to implement an “immediate, complete and comprehensive” ban of X.

Any X users who access the app or site through a virtual private network (VPN) face a fine of 50,000 Reais (£6,750) under the ruling.

Mr Musk also faces prosecution in Brazil for “obstruction of justice, criminal organisation and incitement to crime” following accusations from Judge Moraes that the platform was used by far-right accounts to spread misinformation and instigate attacks on federal government buildings in Brazil after the defeat of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Judge Moraes ordered X to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, which is one of the company’s biggest international markets.

In failing to make the appointment, Judge Moraes said Mr Musk “showed his total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty and, in particular, for the judiciary, setting himself up as a true supranational entity and immune to the laws of each country”.

X chief executive Linda Yaccarino claimed that the company’s legal representatives had been threatened with imprisonment in Brazil.

“This is a sad day for X users around the world, especially those in Brazil, who are being denied access to our platform,” she said following Friday’s ruling.

“I wish it did not have to come to this – it breaks my heart.”