Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered the immediate and complete suspension of the social media platform X in the country after Elon Musk failed to appoint a new legal representative in Brazil. The block came into effect following the court's directive.
Ban on Platform X
Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes on August 31 ordered the immediate and complete suspension of social media platform X in Brazil, as reported by the BBC. The telecom agency was directed to block access to the platform. The ban was imposed after CEO Elon Musk failed to meet the judge's deadline to appoint a new legal representative in the country. The ban will stay in effect until the company complies with the court orders and pays existing fines amounting to $3 million. The platform X is also required to pay $8,874 per day for using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X after the ban. Google and Apple have been given five days to comply with the ban and block access to the app.
Months of Tension
In April, the court ordered the X platform to suspend accounts that violated Brazilian laws. Musk ignored the order, citing free speech as a basic right. Last week, Musk closed his Brazilian office after Judge de Moraes warned of potential arrests for failing to comply with the April order. Recently, Elon Musk stated on X that 'free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes.' The official X account posted that 'we expect Judge Alexandre de Moraes to order X to be shut down in Brazil simply because we did not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents,' including a senator and a 16-year-old girl. Judge de Moraes claims Musk obstructs efforts to clean up the internet by allowing the spread of misinformation and hate speech.
Repercussions for Musk's Other Businesses
To pressure Musk and collect fines from X, Judge de Moraes also froze the funds of SpaceX’s satellite internet service, Starlink, prohibiting financial transactions in Brazil. Starlink plans to fight the order, stating in a post on X that 'this order is based on an unfounded determination that Starlink should be responsible for unconstitutional fines levied against X.' Tech lawyer Preston Byrne observed that if X loses in Brazil, the EU, UK, Australia, and Canada will be next to ban X. However, if X wins, it will demonstrate the resilience of American principles of free speech globally.
The situation in Brazil highlights the importance of adhering to local laws by global tech companies while also raising critical questions about the limits of free speech and platform accountability.
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