Brazil judge orders suspension of Elon Musk's X after missing legal deadline
Brazil has started blocking Elon Musk’s social media platform X, making it largely inaccessible on both the web and through its mobile app after the company refused to comply with a judge’s order.
X missed a deadline imposed by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to name a legal representative in Brazil, triggering the suspension.
It marks an escalation in the monthslong feud between Musk and de Moraes over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation.
To block X, Brazil’s telecommunications regulator, Anatel, told internet service providers to suspend users’ access to the social media platform.
As of Saturday at midnight local time, major operators began doing so.
Reacting to the decision, Musk wrote on X: "Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes."
By Saturday morning some users had reported access to the platform was no longer possible.
De Moraes had warned Musk on Wednesday night that X could be blocked in Brazil if he failed to comply with his order to name a representative, and established a 24-hour deadline.
The company hasn’t had a representative in the country since earlier this month.
Internet service providers and app stores have been given five days to block access to X, with the platform remaining blocked until it complies with the order.
He added in his order that people or companies using virtual private networks (VPN), to access X will be subject to daily fines of 50,000 Reais (£6,800).
“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,” de Moraes wrote.
Brazil represents an important market for X, which has struggled with the loss of advertisers since Musk purchased what was Twitter in 2022.
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X has clashed with de Moraes over its reluctance to comply with orders to block users.
Accounts that the platform previously has shut down on Brazilian orders include lawmakers affiliated with former President Jair Bolsonaro’s right-wing party and activists accused of undermining Brazilian democracy.
Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist," has repeatedly claimed the justice’s actions amount to censorship, and his argument has been echoed by Brazil’s political right.
He has often insulted de Moraes on his platform, characterising him as a dictator and tyrant.
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