Brazil began blocking Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) early Saturday (August 31, 2024), making it largely inaccessible via both the web and mobile apps, after the billionaire refused to name a legal representative for the country.
The move escalates a months-long feud between him and Mr Musk. Justice of the Supreme Court of Brazil Justice on the issue of freedom of expression, right-wing accounts and misinformation Alexandre de Moraes orders the suspension On Friday (August 30, 2024).
To block X, Brazil’s telecoms regulator, Anatel, asked internet service providers to suspend users’ access to the social media platform. Just after midnight local time on Saturday (August 31, 2024), major operators began doing so.
Also read: X owner Elon Musk uses his ‘free speech’ platform to spread his ideas across the world
Mr de Moraes had warned Mr Musk On Wednesday night (August 28, 2024), the company said that if X did not comply with its order to nominate a representative and a 24-hour deadline, it could be blocked in Brazil. The company has not had a representative in the country since earlier this month.
“Elon Musk has shown his total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty, and in particular the judiciary, and has set himself up as a true supranational entity and immune from the laws of each country,” Mr. de Moraes wrote in his ruling on Friday (August 30, 2024).
Justice said the platform would remain suspended until it complies with their orders, and also set a daily fine of 50,000 reais ($8,900) for people or companies using VPNs to access it.
In a later ruling, they withdrew their initial decision to set a 5-day deadline for internet service providers – not just the telecom regulator – to block access to X, as well as directing app stores to remove virtual private networks, or VPNs.
Brazil is one of the biggest markets for X, which has been struggling with a lack of advertisers since the resignation of Mr. Musk buys former Twitter in 2022Market research group eMarketer says about 40 million Brazilians, roughly a fifth of the population, use X at least once a month.
“This is a sad day for X users around the world, especially those in Brazil, who are being denied access to our platform. I wish this situation hadn’t come to pass – it breaks my heart,” said X CEO Linda Yaccarino On Friday night (August 30, 2024), he said Brazil was failing to uphold its constitution’s promise to ban censorship.
X posted on its official global government affairs page on Thursday (August 29, 2024) that it expects X to be shut down by de Moraes, “simply because we will not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents.”
“When we tried to defend ourselves in court, Judge de Moraes threatened our Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment. Even after he resigned, he froze all his bank accounts,” the company wrote.
There has been friction between X and de Moraes over his reluctance to comply with orders to block users.
Accounts the platform has previously blocked on Brazil’s orders include those of lawmakers linked to former President Jair Bolsonaro’s right-wing party and activists accused of undermining Brazil’s democracy. In April, lawyers for X sent a document to the Supreme Court saying it had suspended or blocked 226 users since 2019.
In his ruling on Friday (August 30, 2024), Mr. de Moraes cited Mr. Musk’s statements as evidence that X’s conduct “clearly seeks to continue to encourage posts containing extremism, hate speech and anti-democratic discourse, and to withdraw them from the control of the jurisdiction.”
In April, Mr. de Moraes added Mr. Musk to an ongoing probe into the spread of fake news and launched a separate investigation against the executive for alleged obstruction.
Also read: Elon Musk reprimanded by UK government for provocative X post amid unrest in the country
Mr. Musk, who calls himself an “autocrat of free expression,” has repeatedly claimed that the judge’s actions amount to censorship, and his argument has been repeated by Brazil’s political right. He has often insulted Mr. de Moraes on his platform, portraying him as a dictator and a tyrant.
Mr. de Moraes’ defense has said his actions against X are lawful, supported by a majority of the court’s full bench and help protect democracy at a time when it is under threat. He wrote on Friday that his decision is based on Brazil’s law that requires internet service companies to have representation in the country so they can be informed of relevant court decisions and take the necessary actions – in particular removing illegal content posted by users and the spread of misinformation during October’s municipal elections.
The impending shutdown in Brazil is not unprecedented.
Brazilian judges alone shut down Meta’s WhatsApp, the country’s most widely used messaging app, several times in 2015 and 2016 after the company refused to comply with police requests for user data. In 2022, Mr. de Moraes threatened to shut down the messaging app Telegram nationwide, arguing that it had repeatedly ignored Brazilian authorities’ requests to block profiles and provide information. He ordered Telegram to appoint a local representative; the company eventually complied and remained online.
X and its former incarnation, Twitter, have been banned in several countries – mostly in countries with authoritarian regimes such as Russia, China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Venezuela and Turkmenistan. Other countries such as Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt have also temporarily suspended X before, usually to suppress dissent and unrest. Twitter was banned in Egypt following the Arab Spring uprisings, dubbed by some as the “Twitter Revolution”, but was later reinstated.
A search on X on Friday (August 30, 2024) showed hundreds of Brazilian users inquiring about VPNs that could potentially enable them to continue using the platform, showing they were logging in from outside the country. It was not immediately clear how Brazilian authorities would monitor this practice and impose the fines outlined by Mr. de Moraes.
“This is an unusual measure, but its main purpose is to ensure that the court order suspending the platform’s operations is actually effective,” explained Filipe Medan, an expert in digital law and professor at the Law School of the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a university in Rio de Janeiro. The Associated Press,
Mariana de Souza Alves Lima, known by her handle Marymoon, showed her 1.4 million followers on X where she wanted to go, posting a screenshot of rival social network BlueSky.
On Thursday evening (August 29, 2024), StarlinkMr Musk’s satellite internet service provider said on X that Mr de Moraes had this week blocked its financial transactions, preventing it from making any transactions in the country, where it has more than 250,000 customers.
“This order is based on an unfounded determination that Starlink should be responsible for the fines unconstitutionally imposed against X. It was issued in secret and without giving Starlink the benefit of any due process of law guaranteed by the Brazilian Constitution. We intend to address this matter legally,” Starlink said in its statement. The law firm representing Starlink explained AP The company has appealed but would not comment further.
Mr Musk disparaged de Moraes while responding to people who shared reports of the freeze. “This guy @Alexander is a very bad criminal wearing a judge’s mask,” he wrote.
Mr Musk later posted on Twitter that SpaceX, which runs Starlink, would provide free internet service in Brazil “until the matter is resolved” because “we can’t get paid but don’t want to deprive anyone.”
In his ruling, Mr de Moraes said he ordered the freezing of Starlink’s assets because X did not have enough funds in its accounts to cover the growing fine, and argued that the two companies were part of the same economic group.
Luca Belli, coordinator of the Getulio Vargas Foundation’s Center for Technology and Society, said X’s suspension was ordered after a warning and fine and was therefore justified, but taking action against Starlink seems “highly suspicious.”
“Yes, of course, they have the same owner, Elon Musk, but it is discretionary to consider Starlink as part of the same economic group as Twitter (X). They have no connection, they have no integration,” Mr Bailey said.