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A panel of judges at Brazil’s federal supreme court has voted unanimously to uphold Elon Musk’s nationwide suspension of social network X.
One judge, Luiz Fux, voted in favour but expressed “doubt” about a measure in the order that would allow the court to fine individuals or businesses that engage in “tricks”, such as using VPNs, to use X while it is blocked.
The court’s top judge, Alexandre de Moraes, issued the controversial suspension order late Friday after warning Musk and X on Wednesday that they had 24 hours to appoint legal representation for their businesses in Brazil or face “a penalty of suspension of operations.” X has previously defied court orders to remove accounts or posts it said violated Brazilian laws on political disinformation and online hate speech.
The court also froze the financial assets of another Musk-led business, the satellite internet service Starlink, in Brazil to ensure his social network would pay the fine.
Brazil’s telecoms regulator Anatel has ordered internet service providers including Starlink to block access to X in the country until it complies with a court order. However, Brazil-based UOL reportedStarlink has informed regulators that it does not intend to comply with the orders and now faces the possibility of having its operating license revoked in Brazil.
Brazil’s X suspension took effect early Saturday morning, leaving the app and website largely inaccessible to users in the country, a major non-NATO ally of the United States with a large online population.
Musk and his companies said they considered de Moraes’ actions “unlawful” and that the court orders were issued without due process. The tech billionaire has repeatedly criticized and called for de Moraes’ impeachment throughout the week. Musk escalated his rhetoric over the Labor Day weekend in the U.S.
He called for an end to the United States. foreign aid to Brazil, adding that “there will be a corresponding confiscation of assets of supporters of the current regime in Brazil to pay for their illegal actions”, without providing any evidence to back up his claim.
On Monday, Musk called de Moraes “acriminal” and write in other articles about X, “Unless the Brazilian government returns SpaceX’s illegally seized assets, we will also seek to seize government assets.”
Associated Press reported The X block in Brazil has “divided users and politicians over the legality of the ban” and many Brazilians “have difficulty and doubt navigating other social media without this ban.”
However, some social media users in Brazil are switching to other social networks. Bluesky on August 30 revealed “new record high activity” from users in Brazil.
SpaceX and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.
Musk calls himself a free speech advocate, but his record is mixed. While he has resisted government orders to remove accounts or content in Brazil and Australia, under his stewardship, X has removed content critical of ruling parties in Türkiye and India.
