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‘Our employees not safe’: Elon Musk warns of full X data dump as Brazil Supreme Court orders probe
“We need to get our employees in Brazil to a safe place or otherwise not in a position of responsibility, then we will do a full data dump,” Elon Musk said.
Elon Musk on Tuesday said that employees of X (formerly Twitter) in Brazil needed to be moved to a safe place otherwise “we will do a full data dump”, as the country's Supreme Court justice ordered to investigate fake news allegations.
“We need to get our employees in Brazil to a safe place or otherwise not in a position of responsibility, then we will do a full data dump,” Musk said in an X post.
“They have been told they will be arrested,” X owner claimed.
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Elon Musk vs. Brazilian Supreme Court justice: what's the issue?
A Brazilian Supreme Court justice has implicated Elon Musk in an ongoing investigation into the spread of fake news and initiated a separate probe into the US entrepreneur for alleged obstruction.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes said that Musk began a public "disinformation campaign" on Saturday regarding the court's actions. This continued the next day, notably with Musk's comments that his social media company X would no longer comply with the court's orders to block specific accounts.
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Suppressing free speech, Musk alleges
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who assumed control of Twitter in late 2022, accused Justice de Moraes of stifling free speech and violating Brazil’s constitution.
He said on X that users could potentially bypass any shutdown of the platform by using VPNs, or virtual private networks.
On Tuesday, Musk said, "He demanded that X suspend accounts of people who raised corruption concerns while insisting that X pretend the suspension was for violating our terms of service! We obey the laws of countries even if we disagree with them, but this requires violating the laws of Brazil."
What charges Elon Musk faces?
Musk is facing an investigation for his suspected intentional criminal use of X as part of a broader inquiry into a group known as digital militias, who purportedly disseminate defamatory fake news and threats against Supreme Court justices. The probe will delve into whether Musk committed obstruction, criminal organisation, and incitement.
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“The flagrant conduct of obstruction of Brazilian justice, incitement of crime, the public threat of disobedience of court orders and future lack of cooperation from the platform are facts that disrespect the sovereignty of Brazil,” de Moraes wrote Sunday.
(Inputs from AP)
