A Brazilian Supreme Court judge on Friday ordered the suspension of Elon Musk’s social media giant X in Brazil after the tech billionaire refused to appoint a legal representative in the country, according to a copy of the decision seen by The Associated Press.
The move further escalates the months-long conflict between the two men over freedom of expression, far-right statements and disinformation.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes Musk had warned on Wednesday evening that X could be blocked in Brazil if he did not comply with his order to appoint a representative, and set a 24-hour deadline. The company has not had a representative in the country since early this month. De Moraes said the platform would remain blocked until it complies.
Musk responded quickly, accusing De Moraes of undermining freedom of expression in the country.
“Freedom of speech is the foundation of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes,” Musk posted on X after the suspension was announced. “The oppressive regime in Brazil is so afraid of the people learning the truth that they bankrupt anyone who tries,” he said.
Brazil is an important market for X, which is struggling with the loss of advertisers since Musk bought the former Twitter in 2022. According to market research firm Emarketer, some 40 million Brazilians, about a fifth of the population, visit X at least once a month.
X had posted on its official Global Government Affairs page late Thursday night that it expected X to be shut down by De Moraes, “simply for not complying with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents.”
“When we tried to defend ourselves in court, Judge de Moraes threatened our Brazilian attorney with jail time. Even after she had resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts,” the firm wrote. “Our objections to his clearly illegal actions were dismissed or ignored. Judge de Moraes’ colleagues at the Supreme Court are unwilling or unable to resist him.”
X is in conflict with De Moraes because the party does not want to comply with the order to block users.
The platform has reportedly previously shut down at the behest of Brazilian authorities, including lawmakers with ties to former President Jair Bolsonaro’s right-wing party and activists accused of undermining Brazilian democracy.
Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” has repeatedly claimed that the judge’s actions amount to censorship, and his argument has been echoed by Brazil’s political right. He has frequently insulted Moraes on his platform, characterizing him as a dictator and tyrant.
De Moraes’s defenders have said his actions against X were lawful, supported by most of the full court, and served to protect democracy at a time when it is in danger. His order Friday is based on Brazilian law that requires foreign companies to have a presence in the country so they can be notified when lawsuits are pending against them.
Given that the operators are aware of the widely publicized standoff and their obligation to comply with an order from De Moraes, and the fact that doing so is not complicated, X could be offline within 12 hours of receiving their instructions, said Luca Belli, coordinator of the Technology and Society Center at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a university in Rio de Janeiro.
This is a developing story.
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