Following months of impasse over misinformation, a judge on Brazil’s Supreme Court on Friday banned billionaire Elon Musk’s social media network X from operating in the country. Judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered the “immediate, complete and comprehensive suspension of X’s operations” in the country. He also told the National Communications Agency to take “all necessary measures” to enforce the order within 24 hours.
Alexandre de Moraes also threatened a fine of 50,000 reais ($8,900) for those who use “technological circumventions” such as VPNs, or virtual private networks.
Elon Musk-Brazil judge controversy
The Elon Musk-Alexandre de Moraes controversy began after a Supreme Court judge ordered the suspension of several accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, belonging to supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro who sought to discredit the voting system in the 2022 election, which he lost.
Brazilian authorities are investigating whether Bolsonaro plotted a coup to prevent current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office in January 2023.
In April, Moraes ordered an investigation into Musk, accusing him of reactivating some of the banned accounts.
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X claims that Moraes threatened to arrest one of the company’s legal representatives in Brazil if the company did not comply.
Musk’s platform had closed all its offices in Brazil due to what a judge called “censorship”, though its service remained available to users in the country.
“We have the right to defend fundamental rights. Those who violate democracy, who violate fundamental human rights, whether in person or through social media, must be held accountable,” Moraes said in a speech on Friday.
Elon Musk’s film X banned in Brazil
The Brazilian Supreme Court judge said the suspension would last until X complied with all relevant court orders, including a fine of 18.5 million reais ($3.28 million) he previously imposed on the social media network for ignoring judicial orders.
He said that this order will remain valid until a representative of the company is appointed in the country.
Moraes also froze the financial assets of Musk’s company Starlink, and issued an order to block the accounts of the satellite internet network, whose number of users has grown rapidly in Brazil.
On Wednesday, he told Musk he had 24 hours to find a new representative or face suspension. However, after the deadline passed, Axe said in a statement that he expected Moraes to shut it down “simply because we will not follow his illegal orders to censor his political opponents.”
X reportedly has over 22 million users in Brazil.
what did elon musk say
Elon Musk, who will take over X in 2022, reacted sharply to the ban and labelled Alexandre de Moraes “an evil dictator acting as a judge”.
He also accused them of “trying to destroy democracy in Brazil”.
“Free expression is the cornerstone of democracy, and in Brazil, an unelected pseudo-judge is destroying it for political purposes,” he wrote on X.
“They’re shutting down the No. 1 source of truth in Brazil,” Musk said.
(With agency inputs)
