Judge shuts down Musk’s X in Brazil

São Paulo, Brazil: Authorities in Brazil started blocking Elon Musk’s social media platform X on Saturday, 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 months-long feud between Musk and Moraes over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has ordered the “immediate suspension” of Elon Musk’s social media platform X in the country.Credit: AP

To block X, Brazil’s telecommunications regulator, Anatel, told internet service providers to suspend users’ access to the social media platform. By early Saturday morning (local time), major operators had begun doing so.

Moraes had warned Musk on Wednesday night that X could be blocked 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.

The order also included the freezing of the satellite internet provider Starlink’s financial accounts in Brazil.

The justice said the platform would stay suspended until it complies with his orders, and also set a daily fine of 50,000 reais ($8900) for people or companies using VPNs to access it.

“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,” Moraes wrote in his decision.

In a later ruling, he backtracked on his initial decision to establish a five-day deadline for internet service providers themselves — and not just the telecommunications regulator — to block access to X, as well as his directive for app stores to remove virtual private networks, or VPNs.

Moraes ordered Anatel to implement the suspension order, and to confirm to the court within 24 hours that it had carried it out.

Brazil is one of the biggest markets for X, which has struggled with the loss of advertisers since 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.

“This is a sad day for X users around the world, especially those in Brazil, who are being denied access to our platform. I wish it did not have to come to this – it breaks my heart,” X chief executive Linda Yaccarino said, adding that Brazil was failing to uphold its Constitution’s pledge to forbid censorship.

X had posted on its official Global Government Affairs page late on Thursday that it expected X to be shut down by 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.

X has clashed with Moraes over its reluctance to comply with orders to block users.

Earlier this year, Moraes ordered X to block certain accounts implicated in probes of so-called digital militias accused of spreading distorted news and hate.

Musk, denouncing the order as censorship, responded by closing the platform’s offices in Brazil. X, formerly known as Twitter, said at the time that its services would still be available in Brazil.

Amid the underlying feud over X, Brazil’s Supreme Court also blocked the local bank accounts of the Starlink satellite internet firm, which is 40 per cent owned by Musk, leading the company on Friday to ask the court to suspend that decision.

AP, Reuters

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.