Brazil's Supreme Court has ordered the suspension of social media platform X's activities in the country after the company failed to meet a deadline to appoint a legal representative in the country.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who has been battling X's owner Elon Musk since April, ordered “the immediate, complete and total suspension of X's operations” in the country late Friday afternoon “until all court orders have been complied with, any fines have been duly paid and a new legal representative for the company has been appointed in the country.”
He gave Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency 24 hours to implement his decision, after which the agency will pass on the order to the country's more than 20,000 broadband internet providers, who must block X.
The agency's director, Carlos Manuel Baigorri, said in an interview with television station Globonews that the order had already been conveyed to internet providers.
“There are over 20,000 businesses involved so each will have their own implementation timeline, but we expect the blocks will probably be available to all businesses by the weekend,” he said.
Judge Moraes initially ordered Apple and Google to “implement technological barriers to prevent users of iOS and Android systems from using X-apps” and to block the use of virtual private network (VPN) applications.
However, later in the evening the judge removed the references to Apple and Google “pending statements from the parties.” [X and Musk] In this case, to avoid unnecessary confusion for third-party companies [Apple and Google]”
The decision means that any individuals or companies who try to continue using X via a VPN will be fined 50,000 reais (£6,800) per day.
The deadline for X to appoint new legal representatives in the country ended at 8:07pm local time on Thursday (12:07am BST on Friday). An hour later, Elon Musk's social network Announced That they would not obey.
Musk fired back on X on Friday, posting that Brazil is “shutting down the number one source of truth” and that “their repressive regime” is “so afraid that its people will know the truth that they are trying to bankrupt anyone who tries to find out.”
The dispute began in April, when Moraes ordered the suspension of dozens of accounts for allegedly spreading misinformation, a request Musk denounced as censorship.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva He said in a radio interview On Friday morning, “A man [Musk] Just because he has a lot of money doesn't give him the right to disrespect you… Who does he think he is?
X, formerly known as Twitter, has not had a legal representative in Brazil since Aug. 17, when Musk announced he would “immediately” suspend operations in the country due to a “censorship order” by Moraes. The service remains available to users in the country.
Judge Moraes' April order to block some of the accounts came as part of an investigation into “digital militias” that helped former President Jair Bolsonaro seek to stay in power after losing the 2022 election. After Musk refused to comply, the judge added him to the investigation.
Moraes on Wednesday ordered the company to appoint a new legal representative within 24 hours, as is required for foreign companies operating in Brazil, saying “any violation will result in the immediate suspension of the social network's activity.”
In a post announcing his refusal to comply with the order, X wrote, “His [Moraes’] “Unlawful orders to censor political opponents”
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Asked Friday why Musk would not comply, President Lula said: “Any citizen from around the world who invests in Brazil must comply with the Brazilian Constitution and Brazilian laws.”
The president said Musk “must respect the decision of the Brazilian Supreme Court… otherwise this country will never be a sovereign nation.”
Also on Thursday, Moraes tweeted that on Aug. 18, the day after Musk announced X was shutting down its operations in Brazil, Blocked local bank accounts for Musk's satellite and internet provider Starlink. The purpose was to enforce fines imposed on X. – As of Friday, the fine stood at 18.3 million reais (£2.5 million) for refusing to remove profiles allegedly engaging in anti-democratic behaviour and spreading false news.
The two companies are part of Musk's vast business empire, which also includes rocket company SpaceX and electric car company Tesla. The billionaire owns 40% of both companies and SpaceX, and also serves as Tesla's chief executive officer.
Legal experts Criticized Starlink's decisionThey argue that the company is a separate company (albeit owned by the same people) and should not be liable for matters relating to X.
Starlink criticized the decision in an email to customers, saying, “This unlawful demand may impact our ability to collect monthly payments from you, but we will continue to provide you with service free of charge if needed.”
Amazon's main internet provider, Starlink, remains open for now.
Starlink on Friday asked the Supreme Court to suspend Moraes' decision and lift the freeze on its bank accounts, or, if the request is rejected, to limit the freeze to the total amount of the fine against X. There was no indication of when the request might be reviewed.
