Brazil moves to block access to Musk’s X amid misinformation dispute
Telecommunications regulators in Brazil have begun the process of blocking X following a Supreme Court order to suspend the social media platform for failing to meet a deadline to appoint a legal representative in the country.
Friday saw the “immediate, complete and total suspension of X’s operations” nationwide, according to Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, “until all court orders are complied with, fines are dulypaid, and the company appoints a new legal representative.”
Local news outlet UOL reported that the three major telecom providers in the nation announced they would start limiting access at midnight (03:00 GMT on Saturday).
The judges have been embroiled in a months-long dispute with billionaire investor Elon Musk over misinformation and free speech.
At the core of the dispute, de Moraes argues that Musk refused to block accounts responsible for spreading fake news, hate speech and attacks on the rule of law earlier this year.
At the time, Musk denounced the order as censorship and responded by shutting down the company’s offices in Brazil, while maintaining that the platform was still available in the country. In his order on Friday, the judge called Musk a “criminal” whose purpose was to “allow the massive dissemination of misinformation, hate speech and attacks on democratic governance, violating voters’ right to free choice by keeping them away from real and accurate information”.
The nearly 40 million Brazilians who use the platform will now lose access to it and face hefty fines of up to 50,000 reais ($9,000) per day if caught using an encrypted connection. Musk hit back at the court order.He referred to de Moraes as “an evil dictator” on Friday for closing “the #1 source of truth in Brazil.” The judge’s ruling could cause X to lose one of its biggest and most coveted markets at a time when Musk is struggling with advertising revenue for the platform. Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who runs for president again in 2022, defended the court order suspending X.
“Having a lot of money does not give you the right to disregard Brazilian laws,” Lula stated on Friday during a radio interview.
“Elon Musk is an American citizen, he is not a citizen of the world. He cannot offend presidents, congressmen, the Senate or the Supreme Court. Who do they think they are?” he added.
Musk has been applauded by conservative supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who say Lula’s government has silenced them.
