wecastonlineOn Friday, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice ordered the suspension of Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, in Brazil after the tech billionaire refused to appoint a legal representative in the country, according to a decision obtained by The Associated Press.
The suspension escalates a prolonged conflict between Musk and Justice Alexandre de Moraes, involving issues of free speech, far-right accounts, and misinformation. De Moraes had warned Musk on Wednesday that X could be blocked in Brazil if he failed to designate a representative within 24 hours. The company has not had a representative in the country since earlier this month, and de Moraes stated that the platform would remain blocked until compliance is achieved.
Brazil is a significant market for X, which has faced advertiser losses since Musk acquired the former Twitter in 2022. According to market research firm eMarketer, around 40 million Brazilians—about one-fifth of the population—access X at least once a month.
“When we attempted to defend ourselves in court, Judge de Moraes threatened our Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment. Even after she resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts,” the company stated. “Our challenges against his clearly illegal actions were either dismissed or ignored. Judge de Moraes’ colleagues on the Supreme Court are either unwilling or unable to stand up to him.”
