BRASILIA — In a significant move on Friday, a justice of the Brazilian Supreme Court ordered the suspension of the social media platform X across Brazil. The decision comes in the wake of the platform’s repeated violations of Brazilian court orders and regulations under the ownership of Elon Musk.
According to Philippines News Agency, the suspension was necessitated by X’s “repeated, conscious, and willful non-compliance” with judicial mandates, including daily fines and the platform’s attempts to circumvent the Brazilian legal system. This behavior, Moraes noted, has contributed to creating an unchecked environment within Brazilian social networks, especially problematic during the 2024 municipal elections. The platform has also been implicated in spreading hateful and racist speech and disrupting democratic processes in Brazil.
On August 28, Moraes had given Musk a 24-hour ultimatum to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, with the warning that failure to comply would lead to X’s suspension. Following continued non-compliance and escalating judicial issues, including a refusal to remove disinformation and hateful content, Musk closed X’s offices in Brazil. The government has also targeted accounts associated with allies of former president Jair Bolsonaro, accusing them of spreading misinformation and undermining democratic institutions.
The Supreme Court has directed the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to disconnect X within 24 hours and ordered major app stores like Apple and Google to remove the X app within five days. In response to these actions, Musk has criticized Justice Moraes on X, labeling him an “evil dictator cosplaying as a judge,” yet he has not formally addressed the latest fines or judicial inquiries.