Brazil’s Supreme Court Orders Nationwide Suspension of Elon Musk’s Operations
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Brazil’s Supreme Court on Friday ordered a nationwide suspension Elon Musk’s social network X after the company said it would defy previous court orders regarding content censorship and the appointment of legal representatives in the country.
Alexandre de Moraes, the court’s top judge, also ordered daily fines for individuals or businesses in Brazil who use virtual private networks (VPNs) or other methods to access X while the site is banned in the country. G1 Sphere reported
Court issued a statement via its government website in Brazil on Friday, it said it had ordered “the immediate and total suspension of the activities of X, formerly Twitter, throughout the national territory until the judicial decisions of the Court are complied with and the imposed fines are paid.” The statement also said the order would remain in effect “until a representative of the company in the country is appointed.”
Brazil’s Supreme Court said on Wednesday that Musk and X had 24 hours to appoint a legal representative for their business in Brazil or face a “penalty of suspension of operations” there. The deadline passed Thursday evening.
X’s global government management unit said in a statement late Thursday that they expected de Moraes to close “soon” because the company “will not comply” with his order.
Brazil, a major non-NATO ally of the United States, is currently preparing for municipal elections in October. Under Brazilian law, social media companies operating in the country must hire people to handle government takedown notices, including those related to political misinformation and incitement to violence.
X has no such representative in Brazil and earlier this month they said they would remove all your employees leave the country rather than face any arrest for failing to comply with a court order.
The X suspension in Brazil could cause business problems for Musk’s struggling company. Brazil has a population of more than 171 million people. active social media users, by market Oosga’s research.
Musk led Twitter’s $44 billion acquisition in late 2022. He made sweeping changes and reinstated previously banned and suspended accounts, forcing many major advertisers to pull out or cut back on ad campaigns.
The World Bank stops paid for campaigns on X after a CBS News investigation found ads from the organization appeared under a racist post from an X account that frequently posted “pro-Nazi and white nationalist content.”
Musk criticized de Moraes in a series of posts after a court froze the finances of Starlink, the satellite internet service offered by Musk’s SpaceX, in Brazil. Starlink has been advertising on X under Musk’s management, and Musk has encouraged people in Brazil to use Starlink to access the social media platform.
On Friday, Musk compared de Moraes to a movie villain. Voldemort and shared a post describing “evil” tyranny of Moraes.”
Representatives for X and the US embassy in Brazil did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Musk has repeatedly denounced de Moraes’s court order as censorship. In a statement Thursday, X said de Moraes’ court had taken “illegal action” against the company.
On Friday after news of the suspension broke, Musk said on X, “The oppressive regime in Brazil is so afraid of people knowing the truth that they will bankrupt anyone who tries.”
G1 Globo, a major national news agency in Brazil, reported that the supreme court sent the order to national telecommunications company Anatel on Friday.
Anatel has asked telecom providers, including Starlink, to block the use of X in Brazil.
