A Brazilian court has upheld the ban on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, despite a long-running dispute between the judiciary and the billionaire.
The majority of the jury agreed with Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ earlier decision to block X in Brazil, news portal G1 reported Monday.
On Friday, the judge ordered the “immediate and complete suspension” of X, formerly Twitter, nationwide until the court rulings are implemented and the imposed fines are paid.
De Moraes accuses X of not taking sufficient action against the spread of hate speech and fake news. Musk accuses the judge of censorship and calls him an “evil dictator.”
The judge ordered X to block the accounts of right-wing activists who spread conspiracy theories and false information. Musk called the demand unlawful, the online platform did not comply with the request – and also did not pay the imposed fine.
In mid-August, Musk closed the tech company’s office in Brazil over fears the company’s representative in the country would be arrested.
De Moraes gave X an ultimatum on Friday, saying the platform’s access to the country would be suspended if the company did not appoint a legal representative within 24 hours. Musk let the deadline pass without appointing anyone.
The ban will remain in effect until X has paid the fine of over 18 million reais (almost 3.3 million dollars) and has appointed a lawyer.
According to media reports, X has about 20 million users in Brazil.
