SAO PAULO – Brazil started blocking Elon Musk’s social media platform X early Saturday, following the company’s refusal to comply with a judicial order.
Brazil’s telecommunications regulator, Anatel, told internet service providers to suspend users’ access to the social media platform, starting from Saturday at midnight local time.
The social media giant missed a deadline set by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Thursday evening to appoint a legal representative in Brazil. According to the court’s decision, the suspension will remain in effect until the company complies with the orders, which include designating a local representative and paying fines exceeding $3 million.
The company hasn’t had a representative in the country since earlier this month.
“Elon Musk showed his total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty and, in particular, for the judiciary, setting himself up as a true supranational entity and immune to the laws of each country,” de Moraes wrote in his decision on Friday.
De Moraes gave internet service providers and app stores five days to block access to X, and said the platform will remain blocked until it complies with his orders. He also imposed a fine of $8,900 for attempts to access the platform via VPNs.
On the other hand, Elon Musk defended his stance from a “freedom of speech” perspective, accusing the court’s decision as an endeavour to “censorship.” However, de Moraes supporters insisted on the necessity to comply with the Brazilian law, which requires internet services companies to have representation in the country so they can be notified when there are relevant court decisions and take requisite action, especially amid the upcoming October municipal elections.
“Until last week, 10 days ago, there was an office here, so this problem didn’t exist. Now there’s nothing. Look at the example of Telegram: Telegram doesn’t have an office here, it has about 50 employees in the whole world. But it has a legal representative,” Luca Belli, coordinator of the Technology and Society Centre at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a university in Rio de Janeiroa and a professor at law school, told The Associated Press.
