A Brazilian Supreme Court judge ordered the suspension of Elon Musk’s X after the tech billionaire did not comply with a court-mandated deadline to identify a legal representative in the South American country.
On Friday, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice ordered the “immediate suspension” of the social media platform X in Brazil. This decision came after X failed to meet a court-imposed deadline to appoint a legal representative in the country.
The ruling, issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, is part of a larger ongoing dispute between Moraes and Elon Musk. The conflict has also involved freezing the financial accounts of Musk’s satellite internet provider, Starlink, in Brazil.
Justice Moraes’s order mandates the immediate suspension of X until all related court orders are fulfilled. This includes paying fines totaling 18.5 million reais (approximately ₹27.66 crore) and appointing a legal representative in Brazil. The telecommunications regulator Anatel has been tasked with enforcing the suspension and must report back to the court within 24 hours.
To prevent users from bypassing the blockage with virtual private networks (VPNs), Moraes has set a fine of up to 50,000 reais (about ₹7.47 lakh) per day for those found attempting to access the platform illegally.
X anticipated the shutdown after the deadline for appointing a legal representative expired. Earlier this year, Moraes had ordered X to block certain accounts linked to investigations into digital militias accused of spreading misinformation and hate speech. Musk criticized this order as censorship, leading X to close its offices in Brazil while claiming that its services would remain accessible.
In addition to the X suspension, Brazil’s Supreme Court has also blocked the local bank accounts of Starlink, which is partially owned by Musk. Starlink has since requested a suspension of this decision.
