The Brazilian Supreme Court has mandated the halt of X, formerly recognized as Twitter, following a lengthy legal conflict between the social media company’s proprietor Elon Musk and the Brazilian government.
The platform did not fulfill a deadline imposed by Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes to appoint a new legal representative in Brazil, leading to the Supreme Court on Friday issuing a “direct and total shutdown” order for the social media site.
Moreover, the judge has issued a penalty of $8,874 per day (Rs. 7.47 lakh) to anyone attempting to bypass the ban through technological tricks, like using a VPN or a virtual private network.
With 40 million users in Brazil impacted, the platform is expected to shut down within 24 hours and will remain off until it meets all court requirements and settles current fines.
The dispute started in April, with the judge banning numerous X accounts for allegedly spreading false information, which X failed to address.
In reaction to the ban, Elon Musk stated: “Free speech is the foundation of democracy and a non-elected judge in Brazil is undermining it for political gains.”
Brazil has become part of the expanding group of nations that have either banned or suspended X. Here’s a closer look at the situation.
Company X hasn’t been the sole social media firm to experience scrutiny from Brazilian regulators.
The year prior, Telegram was briefly suspended due to its unwillingness to help authorities enforce the blocking of specific accounts.
In the same period, Meta’s WhatsApp platform encountered brief suspensions in both 2015 and 2016 for its refusal to provide law enforcement agencies with information about users.
Justice Moraes has also put a hold on the financial operations of another Musk enterprise, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite-internet service, aiming to recover $3 million in penalties he has imposed on X. Starlink, which has seen a surge in popularity in Brazil, boasting over 250,000 subscribers, announced its intention to contest the decision. Should the order stand, Starlink plans to offer its service for free in Brazil.
Mr. Musk and Justice Moraes have engaged in a prolonged dispute. Mr. Musk accuses Justice Moraes of unlawfully silencing conservative voices. In response, Justice Moraes accuses Mr. Musk of unlawfully interfering with his efforts to purify the Brazilian internet.
