X Banned in Brazil After Dispute Over Misinformation

X, formerly Twitter, has been banned in Brazil after failing to meet a deadline set by a Supreme Court judge to appoint a new legal representative in the country.

Alexandre de Moraes ordered the ‘immediate and complete suspension’ of the social media platform until it complies with all court orders and pays existing fines, Reuters reported.

Recall that this ‘dispute’ began in April when the judge ordered the shutdown of dozens of X accounts for allegedly spreading misinformation.

– Freedom of speech is the foundation of democracy, and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes – said X owner Elon Musk.

The social media network is reportedly used by at least a tenth of the country’s 200 million inhabitants. By Saturday morning, some users reported that access to the platform was no longer possible.

Musk’s company closed its office in Brazil earlier this month, stating that its representative was threatened with arrest if she did not comply with orders that she described as ‘censorship’ – as well as illegal under Brazilian law.

Judge Moraes ordered that X accounts accused of spreading misinformation (mostly supporters of former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro) must be blocked while under investigation. He stated that the company’s legal representatives would be held responsible if any accounts were reactivated.

X has been threatened with a fine for refusing to comply with this order, and the company and Musk joined critics in Brazil in accusing the judge of being leftist.

This is the latest in a series of disputes involving the tech billionaire who has clashed with the EU over the regulation of X and earlier this month became embroiled in a war of words with British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

The head of Brazil’s telecommunications agency, which has been tasked with suspending the platform, said it is ‘continuing to comply’ with how to do so, according to Reuters.

Social Media Under Pressure

Justice Moraes gave companies like Apple and Google five days to remove X from their app stores and block its use on iOS and Android systems.

He added that individuals or companies using means such as VPN (virtual private network) to access the platform could be fined. According to the judge’s order, the ban will remain in effect until X appoints a new legal representative in the country and pays fines for violating Brazilian law.

In a previous post from one of its official accounts, X stated that it would not comply with the requests.

– We expect that Judge Alexandre de Moraes will soon order X to be shut down in Brazil – simply because we will not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents. The fundamental issue at play here is that Judge de Moraes demands that we break Brazilian laws. We simply will not do that – the post stated.

Meanwhile, the bank accounts of Musk’s satellite internet company Starlink have been frozen in Brazil following an earlier order from the country’s Supreme Court.

Starlink responded with a post on X stating that the ‘order is based on an unfounded decision that Starlink should be responsible for fines imposed – unconstitutionally – against X.’

Justice Moraes became known for his decisions to limit social media platforms in the country.

He is also investigating Mr. Bolsonaro and his supporters for their role in the alleged coup attempt on January 8 last year.

Recall that X is not the first social media company to come under pressure from authorities in Brazil.

Last year, Telegram was temporarily banned for failing to cooperate with requests to block certain profiles.

The messaging service WhatsApp also faced temporary bans in 2015 and 2016 for refusing to comply with police requests for user data.