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Brazil’s telecoms regulator said on Friday it would suspend access to Elon Musk’s social network X in the country to comply with an order from a judge who is locked in a months-long dispute with the billionaire entrepreneur.
The popular social media platform was suspended Thursday evening after it failed to meet a court-imposed deadline to appoint legal representation in Brazil.
Musk argued that Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes was trying to enforce unreasonable censorship, while the justices insisted that social media needed hate speech regulation.
“They are shutting down the #1 source of truth in Brazil,” Musk said in an X post on Friday.
The judge’s ruling could cause the Tesla Model X to lose one of its largest and most coveted markets, at a time when Musk is struggling for advertising revenue on the platform.
X was still accessible in Brazil late Friday, though some Brazilians posted on other platforms that their access to X had been blocked. The country’s three top telecom operators said they would block access from midnight (0300 GMT Saturday), local news outlet UOL reported.
The dispute led to the freezing of the Brazilian bank accounts of satellite internet provider Starlink, a division of SpaceX, the rocket company led by Musk, this week.
In his ruling, Moraes ordered that Company X, formerly known as Twitter, be suspended from operating in Brazil until it complies with all relevant court orders, including paying a fine of more than $3 million and appointing a local representative as required by Brazilian law.
Morais also ordered telecom regulator Anatel to enforce the suspension.
The agency told Reuters it was moving forward with compliance but gave no specific timetable.
To effectively shut down X in Brazil, telecom companies would need to stop carrying traffic to the network, while also preventing the site’s users from circumventing it by hiding their location using virtual private networks (VPNs).
Moraes ordered fines of up to 50,000 reais ($9,000) per day for those who continue to access X through VPNs.
Tech giants Apple and Alphabet’s Google were initially directed to remove X from their app stores and implement so-called anti-VPN barriers that would make it harder for users of Apple’s iOS operating system and Google’s Android to open the X app on their phones or tablets.
But Morais later rescinded that portion of the order, saying it was unnecessary.
The press offices of Apple and Google declined to comment.
Lackey and dictator?
Unlike in many other countries, Brazilian Supreme Court judges can exercise broad powers to make unilateral decisions. But in the dispute over X, Moraes was backed by a majority of the 11 Supreme Court justices, including Chief Justice Roberto Barroso.
In addition to owning X and a 40% stake in SpaceX, Musk is also the CEO of electric car giant Tesla.
The controversy surrounding X stems from an order from Moraes earlier this year requiring the platform to block accounts suspected of spreading distorted news and hate speech.
Musk denounced the order as censorship. He responded by closing the company’s offices in Brazil but ensuring the platform remained available in the country.
He said Starlink will continue to provide services to the Brazilian people (including the military) free of charge “until this issue is resolved.”
Earlier on Friday, Starlink asked the Supreme Court to suspend the decision to freeze its local bank accounts, saying it had complied with all judicial orders. The request was rejected Friday evening.
When asked for comment, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva insisted that all businesses operating in the country must comply with their legal obligations.
“Just because a person has a lot of money doesn’t mean he can disrespect the law,” the leftist leader said on local radio on Friday.
Musk mocked the president as a “lackey” of Moras in Thursday’s post, and he also called the judge a “dictator.”
During an event on Friday, Moraes showed no signs of backing down.
“Those who undermine democracy and violate basic human rights, whether in person or through social media, must be held accountable,” he said.
Read more by Euractiv
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