Elon Musk's company in Brazil must respond to court orders
Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (STF) on Tuesday (Apr. 9) rejected a request from the social network X, formerly Twitter, to exclude its Brazilian office from the jurisdiction of Brazilian court decisions. The company sought to limit liability to its international headquarters in potential lawsuits.
Moraes dismissed the request following X's Brazilian subsidiary's assertion that it lacks control over the social network's operations. As per the law firm representing the network in Brazil, the Brazilian division solely manages advertising and user monetization.
In his ruling, Justice Moraes pointed out that the company is pursuing "jurisdictional immunity" to evade the impact of Brazilian court decisions.
"The applicant company is pursuing an actual jurisdictional immunity clause, which is not provided for in the national legal framework. Conversely, the incorporation of one of these so-called international operators into its corporate structure implies a potential abuse of legal entity, as it could opt out of complying with Brazilian court orders without consequences, shielded by its representation in Brazil," he remarked.
Over the past weekend, Moraes initiated an investigation into businessman Elon Musk, the owner of the social network. Musk's posts on the platform criticized Justice Alexandre de Moraes and the Court, and even hinted at his intention to disregard court orders targeting the platform.
The justice further underscored that the managers of the Brazilian subsidiary could face accountability for potential obstruction of justice and defiance of court orders.
Moraes also deemed the request to limit potential penalties as “verging on bad faith litigation.”
"In light of the foregoing, given the unequivocal liability of X Brazil Internet and its legal representatives under civil, administrative, and potential criminal law within the Brazilian jurisdiction, I hereby dismiss the request," the minister concluded in his report on the inquiry.
