Elon Musk says X will disobey Brazil court order to censor accounts, calls on judge to be impeached

Elon Musk stated that his social media platform will likely be forced to shut down operations in Brazil as a result of non-compliance with the court order, but argued that ‘principles matter more than profit.’

Elon Musk has pushed back on demands made in a Brazilian court order to censor certain accounts and called for the impeachment of a leading Supreme Court judge.

On Saturday, April 6, X (formerly known as Twitter) announced that it “has been forced by court decisions to block certain popular accounts in Brazil” under the threat of daily fines if the company fails to comply.

Shortly after the announcement, X owner Elon Musk said that the company would resist these demands, even if it had to shut down its operations in Brazil.

“We are lifting all restrictions,” the billionaire wrote. “This judge has applied massive fines, threatened to arrest our employees, and cut off access to 𝕏 in Brazil.”

“As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there. But principles matter more than profit.”

In another post on X, Musk announced that his social media platform would publish the demands made by Supreme Court judge and head of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court Alexandre de Moraes. Musk also called for de Moraes to be impeached and referred to him as “Brazil’s Darth Vader.”

“Coming shortly, 𝕏 will publish everything demanded by @Alexandre [de Moraes] and how those requests violate Brazilian law. This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached. Shame @Alexandre, shame.”

pic.twitter.com/dVI6TJWze7

— Te𝕏asLindsay™ (@TexasLindsay_) April 7, 2024

A few days prior, journalist Michael Shellenberger published the “Twitter Files Brazil,” which showed how the Deep State, led by de Moraes, had interfered in the 2022 presidential election by pressuring social media platforms to ban accounts that supported sitting president Jair Bolsonaro or questioned the electoral systems.

READ: New ‘Twitter Files’ show how Brazil’s deep state interfered in the 2022 presidential election

On March 30, 2022, the day after de Moraes took office as president of the TSE, the TSE mandated Twitter to, within a week and under the threat of a daily fine of 50,000 BRL (US$ 10,000), supply data on the monthly trend statistics for the hashtags #VotoImpressoNAO (“PrinteVoteNo”) and #VotoDemocraticoAuditavel (“DemocraticAuditableVote”).

In 2022, the court coerced Twitter into censoring several accounts, including two elected House members, for allegedly spreading “disinformation” under the threat of heavy fines. Twitter initially pushed back on these requests and appealed the orders but ended up complying with some of the requests due to the pressure of the heavy penalties.

Under Musk’s leadership, the social media platform appears to reject the censorship demands made by de Moraes and risk the shutdown of the company in Brazil.

“At any moment, Brazil’s Supreme Court could shut off all access to X/Twitter for the people of Brazil,” Shellenberger wrote on April 7 while reporting from Brazil. “It is not an exaggeration to say that Brazil is on the brink of dictatorship at the hands of a totalitarian Supreme Court Justice named Alexandre de Moraes.”

“President Lula da Silva is participating in the push toward totalitarianism,” he added. “Since taking office, Lula has massively increased government funding of the mainstream news media, most of which are encouraging increased censorship.”

In response to Musk’s announcement to disobey the court order, Brazil’s Attorney General Jorge Messias demanded “urgent regulations” of social media platforms. According to the Financial Times, Messias said, “It is urgent to regulate social networks.”

“We cannot live in a society in which billionaires domiciled abroad have control of social networks and put themselves in a position to violate the rule of law, failing to comply with court orders and threatening our authorities,” he added.

Musk called on users in Brazil to download and use a VPN (virtual private network) to be able to use the social media platform, should the government restrict access to X.

Related Topics:#AlexandredeMoraes #AndreasWailzer #BrazilSupremeCourtJudgeCensorship #ElonMuskBrazil #LifeSiteNews #XBrazil

Up Next

It’s time for an honest conversation about the costs of new federal programs

Don't Miss

Poynter’s Creepy ‘Fact-Based Expression’

Todayville

Todayville is a digital media and technology company. We profile unique stories and events in our community. Register and promote your community event for free.

Follow Author

Canadian interest in electric vehicles falls for second year in a row: survey

Business / 5 hours ago

Ottawa’s capital gains tax hike—final nail in ‘business investment’ coffin

Alberta / 6 hours ago

Alberta threatens to fight Trudeau government restrictions on Canada’s plastics industry

Automotive

Canadian interest in electric vehicles falls for second year in a row: survey

Published on April 29, 2024

Todayville

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

Canadians’ disinterest in electric vehicles comes as the Trudeau government recently mandated that all new light-duty vehicles in Canada are zero emission by 2035.

Research has revealed that Canadians are increasingly unwilling to purchase an electric vehicle (EV).

According to an April 22 survey from AutoTrader, Canadians remain skeptical of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s electric vehicle mandate and ongoing advertisement surrounding electric vehicles, as interest in owning one dropped for a second year in a row.

“Overall, while almost half of non-EV owners are open to buying an EV for their next vehicle, interest in EVs has declined for the second year in a row,” reported Tiffany Ding, director of insights and intelligence at AutoTrader.

In 2022, at least 68 percent of Canadians were interested in buying an electric vehicle. However, by 2023, the number declined to 56 percent. So far in 2024, there is even less interest, with only 46 percent saying they were open to purchasing one.

“AutoTrader data shows a direct correlation to gas prices and EV interest, and since gas prices have normalized from their peak in 2022, EV interest has also dropped,” a summary of the survey explained.

However, Canadians did show a slight increase of interest in hybrid vehicles, with 62 percent of those looking to purchase an electric vehicle saying they would look at a gas-electric hybrid, compared with 60 percent in 2023.

The survey also questioned Canadians regarding Trudeau’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which requires all new light-duty vehicles in Canada are zero-emission by 2035, essentially banning the sale of new gasoline/diesel-only powered cars.

The mandate comes despite warnings that it would cause massive chaos by threatening to collapse the nation’s power grids.

“Over 75 percent of respondents are aware of the federal government’s ZEV mandate, which requires all new light-duty vehicles sold in Canada to be zero-emission by 2035,” the survey found.

Canadians’ concerns in buying an electric vehicle include limited travel range/distance, inadequate availability of charging stations, higher purchasing costs, and concerns that they do not perform well in cold weather.

Indeed, this winter, western Canadians experienced firsthand the unreliability of Trudeau’s “renewable” energy scheme as Alberta’s power grid nearly collapsed due to a failure of wind and solar power.

Trudeau’s plan has been roundly condemned by Canadians, including Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. In 2022, Smith denounced a federal mandate that will require all new cars sold after 2035 to be “zero emission” electric (EVs) vehicles and promised that Albertans will always have the choice to buy gasoline-powered cars.

Since taking office in 2015, Trudeau has continued to push a radical environmental agenda similar to the agendas being pushed the World Economic Forum’s “Great Reset” and the United Nations’ “Sustainable Development Goals.”

The reduction and eventual elimination of the use of so-called “fossil fuels” and a transition to unreliable “green” energy has also been pushed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) – the globalist group behind the socialist “Great Reset” agenda – an organization in which Trudeau and some of his cabinet are involved.

The Trudeau government’s electric vehicle plan comes despite the fact Canada has the third largest oil reserves in the world. Electric cars cost thousands more to make and buy, are largely considered unsuitable for Canada’s climate as they offer poor range and long charging times during cold winters and have batteries that take tremendous resources to make and are difficult to recycle.

Business

Ottawa’s capital gains tax hike—final nail in ‘business investment’ coffin

Published on April 29, 2024

Todayville

From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill and Jake Fuss

From 2014 to 2022, inflation-adjusted total business investment (in plants, machinery, equipment and new technologies but excluding residential construction) in Canada declined by C$34 billion. During the same period, after adjusting for inflation, business investment declined by a total of $3,748 per worker

According to the recent federal budget, the Trudeau government plans to increase the inclusion rate from 50 per cent to 66.7 per cent on capital gains over $250,000 for individuals and on all capital gains realized by corporations and trusts. Unfortunately, this tax hike will be the final nail in the coffin for business investment in Canada, which likely means even harder economic times ahead.

Canada already faces a business investment crisis. From 2014 to 2022, inflation-adjusted total business investment (in plants, machinery, equipment and new technologies but excluding residential construction) in Canada declined by C$34 billion. During the same period, after adjusting for inflation, business investment declined by a total of $3,748 per worker—from $20,264 per worker in 2014 to $16,515 per worker in 2022.

While business investment has declined in Canada since 2014, in other countries, including the United States, it’s continued to grow. This isn’t a post-COVID problem—this is a Canada problem.

And Canadians should be worried. Businesses investment is key for strong economic growth and higher living standards because when businesses invest in physical and intellectual capital they equip workers with the tools and technology (e.g. machinery, computer programs, artificial intelligence) to produce more and provide higher quality goods and services, which fuels innovation and higher productivity. And as firms become more efficient and increase profits, they’re able to pay higher wages, which is why business investment remains a key factor for higher incomes and living standards.

The Trudeau government’s policies—increased regulation, particularly in the energy and mining sectors (which makes Canada a relatively unattractive place to do business), higher and uncompetitive taxes, and massive federal deficits (which imply future tax increases)—have damaged business investment.

Unsurprisingly, weak business investment has correlated with a weak economy. In the fourth quarter of 2023, real economic growth per person ($58,111) officially fell below 2014 levels ($58,162). In other words, Canadian living standards have completely stagnated. In fact, over the last decade economic growth per person has been the weakest on record since the 1930s.

Instead of helping fix the problem, the Trudeau government’s capital gains tax hike will further damage Canada’s economy by reducing the return on investment and encouraging an exodus of capital from the country. Indeed, capital gains taxes are among the most economically-damaging forms of taxation because they reduce the incentive to invest.

Once again, the Trudeau government has enacted a policy that will deter business investment, which Canada desperately needs for strong economic growth. The key takeaway for Canadians? Barring a change in policy, you can expect harder times ahead.