A Brazilian Supreme Court Justice has ordered the suspension of Elon Musk’s social media platform X in Brazil after the tech billionaire refused to name a legal representative in the country.
The move further escalates the months-long feud between the two persons over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. Justice Alexandre de Moraes had warned Musk earlier this week 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 did not have a representative in the country since earlier this month. Justice De Moraes said the platform would remain blocked until it complies. Responding to the ban, Elon Musk accused the Brazilian Judge of destroying free speech in the country.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes had warned Mr. Musk on Wednesday (August 28, 2024) 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. Mr. De Moraes said the platform would remain blocked until it complies.
Brazil is an important market for X, which has struggled with the loss of advertisers since Mr. Musk purchased the former Twitter in 2022. Market research group Emarketer says some 40 million Brazilians, roughly one-fifth of the population, access X at least once per month.
X had posted on its official Global Government Affairs page late on Thursday that it expected X to be shut down by Mr. de Moraes, “simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents”.
“When we attempted to defend ourselves in court, Judge de Moraes threatened our Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment. Even after she resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts,” the company wrote. “Our challenges against his manifestly illegal actions were either dismissed or ignored. Judge de Moraes’ colleagues on the Supreme Court are either unwilling or unable to stand up to him.” X has clashed with Mr. de Moraes over its reluctance to comply with orders to block users.
