Brazil axes X as Musk defies Supreme Court order

Brazil's Federal Supreme Court has ordered suspension of social media site X, previously known as Twitter, in the South American country.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes stated on Friday that X would be banned until it complies with all court orders and settles existing fines.

Moraes, who has been engaged in a prolonged dispute with the platform, had issued a 24-hour ultimatum for X to appoint a new legal representative, with the deadline set for Thursday evening.

The platform is expected to become inaccessible in Brazil within the next 24 hours. Additionally, Justice Moraes has given companies like Apple and Google a five-day deadline to remove X from their app stores.

De Moraes' order is based on Brazilian law requiring foreign companies to have legal representation to operate in the country, according to the Supreme Court's press office. This ensures someone can be notified of legal decisions and is qualified to take any requisite action.

X's refusal to appoint a legal representative would be particularly problematic ahead of Brazil's October municipal elections, with a churn of fake news expected, said Luca Belli, coordinator of the Technology and Society Center at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a university in Rio de Janeiro.

Takedown orders are common during campaigns, and not having someone to receive legal notices would make timely compliance impossible.

Loss of Brazilian market

Brazil is a key market for X and other platforms. Some 40 million Brazilians, roughly one-fifth of the population, access X at least once per month, according to the market research group Emarketer.

Musk, a self-described "free speech absolutist," has claimed de Moraes' actions amount to censorship and rallied support from Brazil's political right. He has also said that he wants his platform to be a "global town square".

The loss of the Brazilian market — the world's fourth-biggest democracy — would make achieving this goal more difficult. Brazil is also a potentially huge growth market for Musk's satellite company, Starlink, given its vast territory.

Late Thursday afternoon, Starlink said on X that de Moraes this week froze its finances, preventing it from doing any transactions in the country where it has more than 250,000 customers.

"This order..... (was issued) without affording Starlink any of the due process of law guaranteed by the Constitution of Brazil. We intend to address the matter legally," Starlink said in its statement.