Billionaire X owner Elon Musk signaled he could avoid traveling to countries without ironclad free speech protections following the controversial arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France.
Musk, who called for Durov to be released after the Russian-born billionaire was cuffed last weekend for allegedly facilitating illegal activity on Telegram, has himself clashed with authorities in Brazil and the European Union over content moderation on X.
“Probably wise for me to limit movements to countries where free speech is constitutionally protected,” Musk said Thursday night in an X post.
Durov’s arrest has kicked off a global debate on online free speech, with Musk asserting at one point that his detention in Paris was a sign of “dangerous times.”
Some have raised the question of whether other notable social media executives, such as Musk or Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg, could similarly face personal liability for content published on their apps.
On Thursday night, X said it expected Brazilian authorities to force a shutdown of the platform “soon” following a war of words between Musk and Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes.
Brazil has blocked bank accounts used by Musk-led satellite internet firm Starlink.
The dispute escalated earlier this month when X pulled its legal representative from Brazil after the judge had threatened arrest.
Brazilian law requires that social media companies have a representative on the ground to handle government requests to remove content.
X has argued that Moraes is attempting to censor political opponents.
“We are absolutely not insisting that other countries have the same free speech laws as the United States,” the company said in a lengthy statement. “The fundamental issue at stake here is that Judge de Moraes demands we break Brazil’s own laws. We simply won’t do that.”
Elsewhere, a top official from the European Union – which has an active probe into X’s content moderation practices that could result in massive fines – warned Musk earlier this month not to amplify “potentially harmful content” ahead of his interview with Donald Trump.
The warning sparked an uproar in the US, with some accusing the EU of meddling in the upcoming presidential election.
In France, prosecutors have slapped Durov with an array of charges related to terrorism, narcotics, complicity, fraud, money laundering, receiving stolen goods and child pornography, and claim that he has been uncooperative with investigations into criminal activity conducted on Telegram.
French President Emmanuel Macron has pushed back on critics, declaring that Durov’s arrest was not politically motivated and that France is committed to free speech.
