Elon Musk’s social media giant X has clashed with Justice Alexandre de Moraes (pictured) over its reluctance to comply with orders to block users. File | Photo credit: Reuters
a supreme court in brazil Justice has ordered the suspension of Elon Musk’s social media giant Company X in Brazil after the tech billionaire refused to name his legal representative in the country, according to a copy of the decision. The Associated Press. The move on Friday (August 30, 2024) will escalate a months-long dispute between the two men over freedom of expression, far-right accounts and misinformation.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes warned Mr Musk on Wednesday night (August 28, 2024) that X could be blocked in Brazil if he failed to comply with his order to nominate a representative, and set a 24-hour deadline. The company has had no representative in the country since earlier this month. The platform will remain blocked until it complies, Mr de Moraes said.
Brazil is a key market for X, which has struggled with a loss of advertisers since Mr. Musk bought the former Twitter in 2022. Market research group eMarketer says about 40 million Brazilians, about a fifth of the population, use X at least once per month.
X posted on its official global government affairs page late on Thursday that it expected X to be shut down by Mr de Moraes, “simply because we will not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents”.
“When we attempted to defend ourselves in court, Judge de Moraes threatened our Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment. Even after she resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts,” the company wrote. “Our challenges against his clearly illegal actions were either dismissed or ignored. Judge de Moraes’ colleagues at the Supreme Court are either unwilling or unable to stand up against him.” X has clashed with Mr. 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 affiliated with former President Jair Bolsonaro’s right-wing party and activists accused of undermining Brazil’s democracy.
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’s defense has said his action against X is legal, supported by a majority of the court’s full bench, and defends democracy at a time when it is under threat. His order on Friday is based on a Brazilian law that requires foreign companies to have representation in the country so they can be notified when there is a legal case against them.
Luca Belli, coordinator of the Center for Technology and Society at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a university in Rio de Janeiro, said that because operators are aware of the widely publicized standoff and are required to comply with Mr. de Moraes’s order, and doing so is not complicated, X could go offline within 12 hours of receiving his instructions.