Elon Musk’s X ready to comply with Brazil’s apex court rulings

Musk vs Moraes: Lawyers representing Elon Musk's X informed Brazil's Supreme Court that the social media platform intends to fully adhere to all rulings issued by the court or Brazil's top electoral court. This declaration, conveyed in a letter seen by Reuters on Monday and addressed to Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, follows Musk's recent announcement of his intent to contest a decision by Moraes instructing X, formerly known as Twitter, to block specific accounts in Brazil.

The development signals a shift in position by X's Brazilian division, which previously indicated in a separate communication to Moraes that it lacked the authority to dictate the compliance of the US-based company with Brazilian court directives. The lawyers affirmed to Moraes in the letter dated Monday, "As previously communicated to the federal police, X Brasil assures that all orders issued by this Supreme Court and the Superior Electoral Court will continue to be fully observed by X Corp."

Musk, who owns X, had earlier stated his intention to revoke all restrictions imposed by Moraes, asserting their unconstitutionality and urging the justice to step down. In response, Moraes initiated an investigation into the billionaire for what he deemed obstruction of justice.

Moraes is currently probing "digital militias" accused of disseminating misinformation and incendiary messages during the tenure of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. Additionally, he leads an inquiry into an alleged coup plot involving Bolsonaro.

Earlier on Monday, X announced that it had been subpoenaed by the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee to furnish information concerning orders from the Brazilian Supreme Court related to content moderation. The platform's legal representatives informed Moraes that X had complied with the committee's request for the sharing of confidential court documents and pledged to keep the justice informed of any updates received from X Corp on the matter.

(With Reuters inputs)