"We are lifting all restrictions. This judge has applied massive fines, threatened to arrest our employees and cut off access to ???? in Brazil. As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there. But principles matter more than profit," Mr. Musk posted, notifying of X's decision.

The announcement came in response to reporting by investigative journalist Michael Shellenberger, and colleagues David Ágape and Eli Vieira, titled, "TWITTER FILES BRAZIL."

In his reporting, Mr. Shellenberger cites records released by X, formerly Twitter, during Mr. Musk's 2022 takeover that allegedly show that "Brazil is engaged in a sweeping crackdown on free speech led by a Supreme Court justice."

Sitting members of Brazil's Congress and journalists were among those named by Brazil's highest court for censoring, Mr. Shellenberger said of his findings, which he has shared on X.

He named lower house members Carla Zambelli of former President Jair Bolsonaro's Liberal Party and Marcel van Hattem of the NOVO party as targets of orders targeting posts the court deemed misinformation.

According to the internal files Mr. Shellenberger shared, Twitter in Brazil was threatened with a $30,000 fine. The company had one hour to remove the Congress members' posts or pay the court for noncompliance.

The article reports that the justice had even been jailing individuals without trial for things posted on social media.

According to Mr. Shellenberger, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes allegedly made demands to Twitter to allow access to its internal data, in violation of Twitter's own policies on the handling of user data.