Brazilian court orders suspension of Elon Musk’s X after it missed deadline

SAO PAULO: The Brazilian supreme court has ordered that X be suspended in the country after the social media platform failed to meet a deadline to appoint a legal representative in the country.

Late on Friday afternoon, Justice Alexandre de Moraes – who has been engaged in a dispute with X’s owner, Elon Musk, since April – 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 in the country”.

He gave Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency 24 hours to enforce the decision. Once notified, the agency must pass the order on to the more than 20,000 broadband internet providers in the country, each of which must block X.

In an interview with the TV channel Globonews, the agency’s president, Carlos Manuel Baigorri, said the order had already been passed on to internet providers.

“Since we’re talking about more than 20,000 companies, each will have its own implementation time, but … we expect that probably over the weekend all companies will be able to implement the block,” he said.

Justice Moraes also initially summoned Apple and Google to “implement technological barriers to prevent the use of the X app by users of the iOS and Android systems” and to block the use of virtual private network (VPN) applications.

However, later in the evening, the judge removed the part mentioning Apple and Google “until there is a statement from the parties [X and Musk] in the case, to avoid any potential unnecessary disruptions to third-party companies [Apple and Google]”.

The decision imposes a daily fine of R$50,000 (£6,800) on individuals and companies that attempt to continue using X via VPN.

The deadline given to X to appoint a new legal representative in the country expired at 8.07pm local time on Thursday (0.07am BST on Friday). An hour later, Elon Musk’s social network announced that it would not comply.

Musk responded on Friday by posting on X that Brazil was “shutting down the #1 source of truth” and that its “oppressive regime” was “so afraid of the people learning the truth that they will bankrupt anyone who tries”.

The dispute began in April, when Moraes ordered the suspension of dozens of accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation – a request Musk denounced as censorship.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a radio interview on Friday morning: “Just because the guy [Musk] has a lot of money, doesn’t mean they can disrespect you … who does he think he is?”

X, formerly known as Twitter, has been without a legal representative in Brazil since 17 August, when Musk announced that his company was shutting down its operations in the country “effective immediately” due to what it called “censorship orders” from Moraes. The service has remained available to users in the country.

Moraes’ April order to X to block some accounts stemmed from an investigation into “digital militias” who backed former president Jair Bolsonaro’s attempts to stay in power after his 2022 election defeat. After Musk refused to comply, the judge included him in his investigation.

On Wednesday, Moraes gave the company 24 hours to appoint a new legal representative in Brazil – a requirement for foreign companies operating in the country – “under penalty of immediate suspension of the social network’s activities”.

In the post announcing its non-compliance with the order, X said it “would not comply with his [Moraes’] illegal orders to censor his political opponents”.

Asked on Friday about Musk’s refusal to comply, Lula said: “Any and all citizens from anywhere in the world who have investments in Brazil are subject to the Brazilian constitution and Brazilian laws.”

The president said Musk “must respect the decision of the Brazilian supreme court … If not, this country will never be sovereign”.

It was also revealed on Thursday that on 18 August – a day after Musk announced the end of X’s operations in Brazil – Moraes blocked the local bank accounts for Musk’s satellite and internet provider Starlink. The aim was to enforce fines imposed on X – as of this Friday, R$18.3m (£2.5m) – for refusing to remove profiles accused of promoting anti-democratic acts and false news.

The two firms are part of Musk’s sprawling business empire, which includes the rocket company SpaceX and the electric car company Tesla. The billionaire owns X and 40% of SpaceX and is the chief executive of Tesla.

Legal experts have criticised the Starlink decision. They argue that it is a different company (albeit one owned by the same person) and should not be held responsible for matters pertaining to X.

In an email to its clients, Starlink criticised the decision and stated: “Although this illegal request may affect our ability to receive your monthly payment … we will continue to provide services to you free of charge, if necessary.”

Starlink, which is the dominant internet provider in the Amazon, remains operational for now.

On Friday, Starlink filed a request with the supreme court to have Moraes’ decision suspended and its bank accounts unfrozen, or, if this request was denied, that the freeze be limited to the total of the fines against X. There is no indication as to when the request will be reviewed. (The Guardian)