Elon Musk said he closed the Brazilian office of his social network X on Saturday because a Brazilian Supreme Court judge ordered the company to suspend certain accounts or face the arrest of its legal representative in Brazil.

X said its service would remain available to users in Brazil. The company did not say how many people it employed in Brazil.

The move is a sharp escalation in Mr. Musk’s monthslong feud with the Brazilian judge, Alexandre de Moraes, whom he has accused of silencing conservative voices online. Mr. Moraes has said he is cleaning up the internet by removing misinformation and attacks on Brazilian institutions.

What is the fight about?

For the past several years, Mr. Moraes has ordered social networks to suspend hundreds of accounts and posts for spreading content that he says threatens Brazil’s democracy. His orders are typically sealed from public view and do not explain what an account did to warrant suspension.

Those orders have largely targeted right-wing supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s former president, including some who questioned Mr. Bolsonaro’s 2022 election loss and sympathized with protesters who raided Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential offices in a bid to invoke a military takeover. Mr. Moraes has also overseen several criminal investigations into Mr. Bolsonaro and his allies.

That has made Mr. Moraes one of Brazil’s most powerful and polarizing figures. On the left, he is considered a hero; on the right, a villain.

New York Times