Brazil’s Supreme Court orders blocking of social media platform X

Rio de Janeiro: Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has ordered the social media platform X to be blocked nationwide after the company refused to appoint a legal representative in the country.

Earlier on Wednesday, de Moraes gave X, owned by Elon Musk, a 24-hour deadline to designate a representative. X shut down its Brazil office on August 17, claiming that there were threats to detain its former legal representative.

X had been in conflict with de Moraes for months over the platform’s refusal to comply with court orders to remove profiles that promote coup-related content or undermine democracy, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Friday, the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) also ordered X to pay fines amounting to 18 million reais (about $3.2 million) for non-compliance.

The judge justified the block decision, citing the company’s repeated, willful defiance of court orders and refusal to pay daily fines, accusing X of attempting to bypass Brazil’s legal system and create a “lawless zone” on social media, especially in the lead-up to the 2024 municipal elections.

De Moraes added that X has facilitated “the actions of extremist groups and digital militias, enabling the spread of Nazi, racist, fascist, hateful, and anti-democratic speech”, particularly ahead of the upcoming elections.

The Brazilian judge also instructed the country’s National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to block access to X within 24 hours. Apple and Google have been given five days to remove the X app from their online stores.

Additionally, a daily fine of 50,000 reais (about $10,000) was imposed on any individual or company that uses methods such as VPNs to access X after the ban.