Why Brazil’s Supreme Court blocked X and what it means for the platform
Brazil's Supreme Court has ordered the suspension of X, formerly known as Twitter, after a protracted legal battle with the social media platform's owner, Elon Musk. The Court mandated this suspension due to the company's failure to appoint a new legal representative in Brazil within the deadline set by Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes. The decision affects approximately 40 million Brazilian users who will lose access to the platform within 24 hours, making it the latest addition to the list of countries that have banned or suspended the social media service.
The legal confrontation between X and Brazilian authorities began in April when Judge de Moraes ordered the suspension of multiple X accounts accused of spreading disinformation, a directive with which the company did not comply. This defiance led to the current suspension order. The judge also imposed a fine of 50,000 reais (Rs. 7.47 lakh) for any attempts to circumvent the block, such as using a VPN.
In response to the decision, Elon Musk stated, «Free speech is the bedrock of democracy, and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes.»
Brazil now joins a growing list of countries that have banned or restricted access to X.
China banned X, along with Facebook, Flickr, and Hotmail, in 2009. This action came after the Uyghur protests in the city of Urumqi escalated into riots, with the Chinese government suspecting that the platform was used to organize the unrest and spread misinformation. Blogger Michael Anti
