Elon Musk's X risks suspension in Brazil after court deadline expires

The social media platform X is facing suspension in Brazil after failing to meet a 24-hour court deadline.

On Wednesday, a Brazilian Supreme Court judge warned that X could be suspended if CEO Elon Musk did not appoint a new legal representative for the platform’s operations in Brazil within 24 h ours.

On Friday, X announced it expects to be shut down in Brazil after missing the deadline.

"Soon, we expect Judge Alexandre 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," X’s Global Government Affairs team said in a statement.

The company emphasized that it does not insist other countries adopt the same free speech laws as the US. "The fundamental issue at stake here is that Judge de Moraes demands we break Brazil’s own laws. We simply won’t do that," the statement added.

X also announced plans to publish "all of Judge de Moraes' alleged illegal demands and related court filings in the interest of transparency," underscoring its commitment to resisting what it considers unlawful orders.

"Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders," the company stated.

Earlier this month, Musk halted X's business activities in Brazil but kept the platform accessible to users, accusing the judge of threatening the previous legal representative.

Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who has led efforts against disinformation in Brazil, issued the order to X. Failure to comply could result in the suspension of X’s operations in the country.

Musk criticised Moraes, alleging that the judge is part of a broader attack on free speech.

Moraes had previously ordered the suspension of several accounts spreading disinformation, including those linked to former President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been implicated in alleged disinformation schemes.