Brazilian Judge Suspends Social Media Platform X across the Country
Brazil has suspended the social media platform X from operating in the country after the company missed a deadline to appoint a legal representative.
On Friday, Brazil Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the “immediate, complete and total suspension of X’s operations” in the country. The suspension will remain “until all court orders are complied with, fines are duly paid, and a new legal representative for the company is appointed in the country,” according to the Associated Press.
Justice de Moraes has also been in conflict with X owner Elon Musk since earlier this year. In his decision, he wrote, “Elon Musk showed his total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty and, in particular, for the judiciary, setting himself up as a true supranational entity and immune to the laws of each country.”
Internet service providers and app stores have been given five days to block access to X in Brazil. App stores must also ban VPNs for users trying to access X, or they will face daily fines.
X commented on Thursday via its official Global Government Affairs account, stating that it expected to be shut down “simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents.”
“When we attempted to defend ourselves in court, Judge de Moraes threatened our Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment. Even after she resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts,” X wrote. “Our challenges against his manifestly illegal actions were either dismissed or ignored. Judge de Moraes’ colleagues on the Supreme Court are either unwilling or unable to stand up to him.”
Musk has argued that de Moraes’ actions against X are anti-free speech. He has referred to de Moraes as an “evil dictator cosplaying as a judge” and claimed Brazil is “shutting down the #1 source of truth in Brazil.” The comments come after Justice de Moraes, along with Brazil President Lula, has been working to shut down X just one month before the country’s upcoming election.
“The oppressive regime in Brazil is so afraid of the people learning the truth that they will bankrupt anyone who tries,” Musk said in response to the threatened fines for people accessing X in the country.
