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SAO PAULO — Brazil’s Supreme Court judge on Friday ordered the suspension of Elon Musk’s social media giant X in Brazil after the tech billionaire refused to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, according to a copy of the ruling seen by The Associated Press.
The move further intensifies a months-long feud between the two men over free speech, far-right rhetoric and disinformation.
Judge Alexandre de Morais warned Musk late Wednesday that X could be blocked in Brazil if he did not comply with the order to appoint a representative, and set a 24-hour deadline. The company has been without a representative in Brazil since the beginning of the month. De Morais said the platform would remain blocked until it complies with the order.
Brazil is an important market for Google X, which has been struggling to lose advertisers since Musk bought Twitter in 2022. About 40 million Brazilians, about a fifth of the country’s population, use Google X at least once a month, according to market researcher Emarketer.
X posted a message on its official Global Government Affairs page late Thursday saying it expected X to be shut down by De Morais “simply because we will not comply with his illegal orders to censor our political opponents.”
“When we tried to defend ourselves in court, Judge de Morais threatened to jail our Brazilian legal representative. Even after she resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts,” the company wrote. “Our challenges to his clearly illegal conduct were either dismissed or ignored. Judge de Morais’ colleagues on the Supreme Court were either unwilling or unable to confront him.”
Unwilling to follow orders to block the user, X came into conflict with Demoras.
The platform has previously shut down accounts on orders from the Brazilian government, including from lawmakers from former President Jair Bolsonaro’s right-wing party and activists accused of undermining Brazilian democracy.
Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” has repeatedly claimed the judge’s actions amounted to censorship, a sentiment echoed by Brazil’s political right. He frequently insults de Moraes on his platform, calling him a dictator and a tyrant.
De Morais’ defense lawyers said his action against X was legal, backed by a majority of the full court, and protected democracy at a time when it was under threat. His order on Friday was based on Brazilian law that requires foreign companies to have a representative office in the country so they can be notified when there is a legal case against them.
Luca Bailey, coordinator of the Center for Technology and Society at the Getulio Vargas Foundation at the University of Rio de Janeiro, said that given the operators’ knowledge of the well-publicized impasse and their obligation to comply with de Morais’ orders, and the uncomplicated nature of doing so, X could be taken offline within 12 hours of receiving the order.
Source: AP
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