Brazil's supreme court has ordered that Elon Musk's X platform be shut down in the Portuguese-speaking South American nation.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the country's Federal Supreme Court (STF) issued the edict on Aug. 30 after Musk failed to comply with his initial 24-hour order to name a representative in the country. According to CBS News, X hasn't had a representative in Brazil since early August.
In his Aug. 30 order, de Moraes gave internet service providers and app stores five days to block access to X. It will remain blocked until it complies with his orders. Furthermore, people or companies who use virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X will be subject to daily fines of 50,000 Brazilian reais ($8,900). (Related: VPNs from local iOS App Store in Brazil DISAPPEAR amid spat between government and X platform over censorship issues).
"Musk showed his total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty and, in particular, for the judiciary – setting himself up as a true supranational entity and immune to the laws of each country," the magistrate wrote. CBS News pointed out that de Moraes' ruling "further escalates the months-long feud between [Brasilia and X] over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation."
The suspension was widely anticipated, according to NTD News, with X saying on Aug. 29 that it expected to be shut down in Brazil over "illegal orders" to censor political opponents.
"Soon, we expect [that] de Moraes will order X to be shut down in Brazil – simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents," the platform formerly known as Twitter said in a statement.
X also claimed that the magistrate had threatened to imprison X's legal representative in Brazil and that he later froze all her bank account. Musk, who has accused Brazil of censorship, was included in a criminal inquiry into individuals who allegedly spread false information about Brazil's election and justice system.
X denounces Brazil's effort to curb free speech
Musk has yet to issue a public statement on the suspension. He did praise reporter Glenn Greenwald's analysis of the case in which Greenwald characterized de Moraes' demands as part of a broader trend in which regimes exert online platforms to stifle dissent.
"It is genuinely remarkable the lengths to which not just Brazil but countries throughout the democratic world are now willing to go to prevent the internet from being a free exchange of ideas where human beings can organize freely and privately because they recognize that is the one threat to establishment power and the status quo ruling class prerogatives," Greenwald said in his analysis.
In turn, Musk praised the analysis for articulating "well" the "evil tyranny" at play in the suspension order. X said in its Aug. 29 statement that it plans to publish all of de Moraes' demands and all related court filings in the coming days in the interest of transparency.
"Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders. To our users in Brazil and around the world, X remains committed to protecting your freedom of speech."
While Musk has accused Brazil of censorship, Brazilian authorities say that X is breaking the country’s internet laws. Earlier this year, the STF justice ordered X to block certain accounts amid investigations into so-called digital militias accused of spreading fake news and hate messages during the government of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
According to market research group Emarketer, some 40 million Brazilians – roughly one-fifth of the population – access X at least once per month.
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Watch this report from the BBC about X being suspended in Brazil by virtue of de Moraes' Aug. 30 order.
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