In a shocking twist, Brazil’s Supreme Court has gone ahead to order the transfer of $3.28 million from accounts linked to Elon Musk’s companies to the state. The decision has been made by notorious Judge Alexandre de Moraes against Musk himself.
The court said Judge de Moraes ordered 18.35 million Brazilian reais, equivalent to about $3.28 million, to be transferred from the accounts of X-formerly Twitter-and Starlink, Musk’s satellite internet service, to the state treasury. It was the second ruling on Wednesday and reflected increased impatience by the court with the billionaire’s companies.
The fine comes amid a spate of penalties imposed on Musk’s platforms; since Aug 30, the social network X has been banned in Brazil for allegedly failing to suspend accounts spreading misinformation and not naming a legal representative in Brazil.
Besides prohibition, Judge de Moraes also froze accounts of both X and Starlink to cover the payment of fines imposed. With X having 22 million users in Brazil-the largest in Latin America-the prohibition fired up immense debate regarding freedom of expression, with political figures from former President Jair Bolsonaro taking criticism of the judge further, with unkind words referred to him as a “dictator.”
The G20 meeting last Friday in Maceió, Northeast Brazil, discussed the problem of misinformation, wherein Ministers of the Digital Economy asked for the cessation of stakeholders in the digital sector from passing on false information. They underlined that digital platforms need to be transparent and accountable through proper policies and legal frameworks.
In a statement, the ministers reiterated the call for them to adhere to regulatory thresholds, amid increasingly frequent tussles between tech giants and regulating bodies across the globe.
