The future of X in Brazil, under Elon Musk

The month of April has been tense for Elon Musk and his operations in Brazil. Facing the rampant ongoing dissemination of misinformation and support for the anti-democratic actions that culminated in the January 8, 2023 insurrection in Brasília, Brazilian authorities — most prominently Supreme Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes — have sought to limit the reach of certain social media accounts. Twitter, now known as X, has been at the center of the debate. 

This month, Mr. Musk, a self-avowed free speech absolutist, indicated X would no longer abide by judicial injunctions in Brazil, one of the company’s biggest markets. Brazilian courts have ordered X to block certain accounts, likely due to concerns about content.

Mr. Musk called such measures censorship and urged Brazilians to resist Justice Moraes. He also called Justice Moraes a “dictator” who had President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva “on a leash” and suggested both were part of some corrupt bargain of political self-protection at the expense of the freedoms of ordinary citizens. The spat temporarily called into question whether Starlink, Mr. Musk’s satellite internet company, would continue to operate in Latin America’s...