In a dramatic escalation of an ongoing legal dispute, Brazil's top court has ordered the suspension of access to Elon Musk's social media platform, X, across the country. This ruling, affecting over 200 million people, marks a significant development in the months-long confrontation between Musk and Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes.
The conflict began earlier this year when Moraes initiated an inquiry into X's moderation policies, accusing the platform of allowing the spread of disinformation and hate speech. The accounts in question were reportedly linked to supporters of former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro. Despite a court order to block these accounts, Musk refused to comply, setting the stage for the current standoff.
As a result of this defiance, the Brazilian Supreme Court has now taken the unprecedented step of ordering the suspension of X, a move first reported by the Associated Press. Internet service providers and app stores in Brazil have been given five days to enforce the ban. However, according to Isik Mater, director of research at Netblocks, a civil society group monitoring internet censorship, the implementation of this measure could be slow. "Given the number of internet providers in Brazil, it might take a while to get the filtering measure fully implemented, depending on how they go about it," Mater noted.
Elon Musk responded to the ban by criticizing Judge Moraes on X, accusing him of undermining democracy for political gain. "Free speech is the bedrock of democracy," Musk asserted, further labeling Moraes as a "pseudo-judge" who is "destroying it for political purposes."
This legal battle is further complicated by the fact that X no longer has a legal representative in Brazil, a requirement for all internet firms operating in the country. X closed its offices in Brazil earlier this year after claiming that Moraes had threatened its legal representative with arrest as part of the ongoing inquiry. Despite a Supreme Court deadline to appoint a new representative, X failed to comply, leading to speculation that the platform would be completely shut down in Brazil.
In a statement on Thursday night, X’s global affairs account warned that the platform's suspension was imminent, accusing Moraes of using illegal orders to silence political opponents. The statement specifically mentioned that those targeted by Moraes include a sitting Senator and a 16-year-old girl, among others.
Musk himself echoed these sentiments, referring to Moraes as “an evil dictator cosplaying as a judge.” In response to the court's actions, X has vowed to publish all related court documents, framing the decisions as violations of Brazil's own legal standards.
Despite the court order, as of Friday morning, X remained accessible in Brazil, with users continuing to post from cities like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. However, the Associated Press reported that individuals caught using a VPN to bypass the ban would face fines of up to 50,000 reals (approximately $8,900).
The tension between X and the Brazilian judiciary reached new heights this week when Moraes froze the bank accounts of Starlink, the satellite internet provider in which Musk has a significant stake. Starlink, which serves a quarter-million customers in Brazil, condemned the action as an "unfounded" attempt to penalize the company for X's refusal to comply with court orders. The company has indicated that it will pursue legal action in response.
The potential suspension of X in Brazil is not just a national issue; it represents a broader global trend of governments challenging the power of large tech platforms and their billionaire owners. This week alone, another tech magnate, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, was arrested in France on charges of "complicity" in serious crimes facilitated through his platform. Musk reacted to the news, stating, “dangerous times.”
As the situation unfolds, the implications of Brazil's decision to block X could reverberate worldwide, setting a precedent for how nations might handle powerful social media platforms that resist local laws and regulations.
@Jasikaran Vickneswaramoothy is a legal reporter for the Swiss Financial Times.
