X has been blocked in Brazil due to Elon Musk’s refusal to comply with local laws. The Brazilian Supreme Court ordered the ban after a conflict between Musk and the court over issues of misinformation, hate speech and anti-democratic content.
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X has been at the center of a legal battle with Brazil’s Supreme Court. The conflict escalated after the court demanded that X comply with Brazilian laws requiring the platform to curb misinformation, hate speech and anti-democratic rhetoric.
This demand was pertinent in the wake of the January 2023 uprising in Brasília, where supporters of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro attempted to undermine the democratic process.
Elon Musk, a vocal critic of government regulation in areas related to free speech, has resisted the court’s orders. Musk’s alignment with right-wing figures like Bolsonaro and Donald Trump has fueled his opposition to Brazil’s legal demands.
Elon Musk accused the court specifically Justice Alexandre de Moraes of suppressing free speech and censoring conservative viewpoints.
On Friday the Supreme Court issued a ruling that led to the nationwide ban of X after Elon Musk failed to appoint a legal representative in Brazil.
Brazilian law mandates that companies operating within its jurisdiction must have legal representation. Elon Musk’s refusal to comply was the final straw for the court.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes criticized X for operating as if it were a no man’s land, a veritable land without law, due to its failure to control the spread of harmful content.
Shortly after midnight on Saturday Brazilian users began noticing that they were unable to access X. Attempts to use the platform via web browsers or mobile apps were met with error messages.
The ban affected millions of Brazilian users with around 40 million people or roughly one-fifth of the population, accessing X at least once a month.
Following the ban many users in Brazil began migrating to Bluesky. Within two days, Bluesky reported an influx of 500,000 new users from Brazil including figures like social media influencer Felipe Neto, who had over 17 million followers on X.
Bluesky welcomed the new users with a message in Portuguese.
Progressive voices in Brazil including leftwing congresswoman Erika Hilton celebrated the court’s decision. Right-wing figures rallied in support of Elon Musk praising him as a defender of free speech and a freedom fighter.
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Elon Musk escalated his attacks on Justice de Moraes using derogatory language and sharing offensive memes. Musk’s comments were no longer visible to Brazilian users unless they used a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to bypass the country’s restrictions.
Justice Moraes increased the pressure on Elon Musk and X. He issued threats of arrest against X’s legal representatives in Brazil accusing them of contempt of court for failing to suspend the specified accounts. So, Elon Musk decided to shut down X’s operations in Brazil entirely, closing its offices and withdrawing its legal team.
The situation reached a critical point when Justice Moraes ordered Brazil’s telecom agency to block access to X nationwide. This was a huge move, as it silenced one of the most popular social media platforms in the country.
According to reports, X had over 25 million users in Brazil, the fourth-largest market for the platform globally.
Moraes justified the block by stating that X’s non-compliance with court orders and had threat to Brazil’s democracy. He accused Elon Musk of allowing the spread of disinformation, hate speech and content that undermined the rule of law.
Elon Musk did not take the Supreme Court’s actions lightly. In a series of posts on X, he launched a scathing attack on Justice Moraes calling him an unelected pseudo-judge who was using his power for political purposes.
Elon Musk said that the real threat to democracy was not X or the content on its platform but the unchecked power of an individual judge who could silence millions with a single order.
Elon Musk also highlighted that X had complied with legal demands in other countries including India and Australia, where the platform faced similar challenges.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes has become one of the most influential figures in Brazil. Over the past few years, he has been granted expansive powers by the Supreme Court to combat threats to democracy in the online space.
The conflict is beyond X, affecting other Musk-owned businesses like Starlink, a satellite internet provider. The Supreme Court also froze Starlink’s financial accounts in Brazil to ensure the payment of fines imposed on X.
Starlink serves over 250,000 users in Brazil particularly in remote areas like the Amazon.
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