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Brazil’s Supreme Court has said it will ban X in the country if Elon Musk’s X doesn’t comply with orders to block certain accounts within 24 hours.
The Supreme Court of Brazil has asked Elon Musk to appoint a legal liaison for X by August 29 or face suspension in the country. The order comes from Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in retaliation to X its shuttering offices in one of its largest markets by traffic and user count.
@GlobalAffairs @elonmusk Mandado de intimação pic.twitter.com/gQUwNCy1Cr
— STF (@STF_oficial) August 28, 2024
The Supreme Court informed X and Elon Musk of its decision through a post on X. As per the order, X had until about 8:00 p.m. local time to follow the orders or face a complete ban in the country. To avoid the ban, X would have to ban accounts as previously ordered by the Supreme Court and pay the due daily fines. X has yet to respond.
Earlier this month, X’s Global Government Affairs alleged in a post that its legal representative in the country had been pressured by Justice Moraes to comply with “censorship” orders. It said the legal representative in the company was being threatened with arrest by the apex court if the company failed to implement legal orders to block certain accounts. The post went on to “expose his actions,” sharing a “secret order” to permanently ban accounts without legal proceedings.
Last night, Alexandre de Moraes threatened our legal representative in Brazil with arrest if we do not comply with his censorship orders. He did so in a secret order, which we share here to expose his actions.
Despite our numerous appeals to the Supreme Court not being heard,… pic.twitter.com/Pm2ovyydhE
— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) August 17, 2024
While the post noted X would continue to function in the country, even without local officials, its fate now hangs in the balance.
Musk had previously been at loggerheads with the Brazilian Supreme Court, and especially Justice Moraes, over topics of free speech and censorship. Back in April, Musk said he would defy the court’s orders to block X accounts of certain politicians and influencers over allegedly “anti-democratic” activities. After declaring it was closing offices in Brazil, Musk went on to call Moraes “an utter disgrace to justice.”
Due to demands by “Justice” @Alexandre in Brazil that would require us to break (in secret) Brazilian, Argentinian, American and international law, 𝕏 has no choice but to close our local operations in Brazil.
He is an utter disgrace to justice. https://t.co/yAvX1TpuRp
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2024
Notably, Moraes, who also heads the nation’s electoral court, had ordered these accounts be blocked, citing they were peddling disinformation. The judge alleged this disinformation was the source of unrest in the country and tied it to the pillaging of various parliamentary buildings, including the presidential office, by supporters of the former far-right president in early 2023.
Moraes has since lodged a full-fledged attack on these alleged instances of disinformation. As part of his endeavors, the judge has ordered detention of offenders without trial and sentenced a congressman to roughly nine years in prison for criticizing the top court.
If X does not comply, it stands to lose over 20 million users in Brazil. Notably, X has previously complied with orders from governments to take down accounts of dissidents in similarly large markets, such as in India, where it blocked nearly 175 accounts of certain protestors while taking a much softer stance and stating its disagreement instead of questioning the orders of the court.
