Brazil Begins Moves To Block X After Court Ruling

Telecommunications regulators in Brazil have begun the process of blocking X after the Supreme Court ordered the suspension of the social media platform for failing to meet a deadline to appoint a legal representative in the country.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Friday ordered the “immediate, complete and total suspension of X’s operations” in the country “until all court orders … are complied with, fines are duly paid, and a new legal representative for the company is appointed”.

Three of the country’s top telecommunications carriers said they would begin blocking access from midnight (03:00 GMT on Saturday), according to a report by local news outlet UOL.

The judge has been locked in a months-long feud with billionaire investor Elon Musk over disinformation and free speech.

At the core of the dispute, de Moraes argues that Musk refused earlier this year to block accounts responsible for the spread of fake news, hate speech and attacks on the rule of law.

At the time, Musk denounced the order as censorship and responded by closing the company’s offices in Brazil while ensuring the platform was still available in the country.

In his order on Friday, the judge called Musk an “outlaw” who intended to “allow the massive spread of disinformation, hate speech and attacks on the democratic rule of law, violating the free choice of the electorate, by keeping voters away from real and accurate information”.

Some 40 million Brazilians who use the platform will now lose access to it and face hefty fines of up to 50,000 reais ($9,000) per day if caught using an encrypted connection.

Musk snapped back at the court’s order. On Friday, he called de Moraes “an evil dictator” for shutting down the “#1 source of truth in Brazil”.

The judge’s ruling could cause X to lose one of its largest and most coveted markets at a time when Musk has struggled with advertising revenue for the platform.