X Banned in Brazil After Supreme Court Order; Musk Condemns the Move

Synopsis: Brazil's Supreme Court has banned X, formerly Twitter, after the platform failed to comply with a court order to block disinformation-linked accounts. Elon Musk criticized the ban as an attack on free speech. The ban will remain until X meets legal requirements, including appointing a new representative in Brazil and paying fines. This decision reflects ongoing tensions between tech companies and legal authorities in Brazil over content regulation.

In a significant legal clash, Brazil's Supreme Court has banned the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, following its failure to meet a compliance deadline set by Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The platform's suspension was ordered after it refused to block accounts linked to disinformation, sparking a fierce response from X's owner, Elon Musk, who criticized the move as a threat to free speech and democracy.

The controversy initially erupted in April when Justice de Moraes mandated the suspension of several X accounts associated with disinformation. Musk, who has been vocal about his stance on free speech, lashed out at the ruling, calling it a politically motivated attack on democracy.

As X missed the court's compliance deadline, Brazil's telecommunications agency moved to enforce the suspension, which will see the platform being inaccessible in the country within 24 hours. In addition, the Supreme Court has instructed major tech companies like Apple and Google to remove X from their app stores and block its use on mobile devices. Users attempting to bypass the ban through VPNs face substantial fines.

The ban will remain in effect until X appoints a new legal representative in Brazil and pays outstanding fines. Justice de Moraes emphasized that X’s legal representatives would be held accountable if any banned accounts were reactivated. The situation has escalated further with the freezing of bank accounts belonging to Musk's satellite internet company, Starlink, following a separate court order.

This is not the first time social media platforms have faced legal action in Brazil; similar measures were taken against Telegram and WhatsApp in previous years for non-compliance with legal requests.