Brazil’s Supreme Court orders nationwide suspension of Elon Musk’s X

Brazil’s Supreme Court on Friday ordered a nationwide moratorium on Elon Musk’s Social network X has vowed to ignore earlier court orders regarding content moderation and appointment of legal representatives in the country.

The court’s top judge, Alexandre de Moraes, also ordered daily fines for people or businesses in Brazil that use virtual private networks (VPNs) or other means to access X, as the site is banned in Brazil. G1 Globe report.

Courts Make a statement In a statement on its website on Friday, the Brazilian government said it had ordered “the immediate and complete suspension of X’s (formerly Twitter) operations in Brazilian territory until the court’s judicial decision is complied with and the fine is paid.” The statement also said the order would remain in effect “until a representative of the company in Brazil is appointed.”

Brazil’s Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that Musk and Tesla must appoint a legal representative for its Brazilian operations within 24 hours or face “suspension of activities.” The deadline expired Thursday evening.

X’s Global Government Affairs Department In a statement Late Thursday, the company said it expected De Morais to close the plant “soon” because it “will not comply” with his order.

Under Brazilian law, social media companies operating in Brazil, a major U.S. ally outside NATO, are preparing for municipal elections in October. Social media companies operating in the country must employ someone to handle government takedown notices, including those about political misinformation and incitement to violence.

X, which has no such representative in Brazil, said earlier this month that it would Delete All Employees Rather than facing any possible arrest for not complying with a court order.

Tesla’s suspension of X production in Brazil could cause business problems for Musk’s already struggling company. Brazil has a population of more than 171 million. Active social media users, by market Oosga Research.

Musk led the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in late 2022. He implemented sweeping changes that restored previously banned and suspended accounts, causing many major advertisers to flee or cut ad spending.

this World Bank stopped The group decided to pay for the promotion on X after a CBS News investigation found that the ad it posted appeared under racist posts from an account called X that regularly posts “pro-Nazi and white nationalist content.”

Musk lashed out at de Morais in a series of posts after a court froze the finances of Starlink, a satellite internet service provided by Musk’s SpaceX in Brazil. Under Musk’s management, Starlink was advertised on X, and Musk encouraged Brazilians to use Starlink to access the social media platform.

Musk compared DeMoras to a movie villain on Friday. Voldemort And shared an article describing “evil tyranny Moraes.”

Representatives of Company X and the U.S. Embassy in Brazil were not immediately available for comment.

Musk has repeatedly denounced De Morais’ court order as censorship. In its statement Thursday, X said De Morais’ court had taken “unlawful actions” against the company.

“The oppressive regime in Brazil is so scared of people learning the truth that they will bankrupt anyone who tries,” Musk said on X-Motion on Friday after news of the suspension broke.

Brazil’s main national news agency G1 Globo reported that the Supreme Court had issued the order to Brazilian telecommunications agency Anatel on Friday.

Anatel asked telecom providers, including Starlink, to block the use of X in Brazil.