Brazil Blocks X After Musk’s Failure to Comply with Court Orders

X(Twitter) has been banned in Brazil after Musk failed to comply with an order by the Supreme Court of Brazil to name a legal representative of the company in the country.

The Supreme Court of Brazil ordered X to suspend the accounts of certain people over what it deemed as illegal use of the platform. The court also ordered the company to name a legal representative in the country or face suspension with over 200 million people. The company, however, has not complied with the court’s order.

According to Judge Alexandre de Moraes, X will remain banned in Brazil until Elon Musk names a legal representative in the country and pays fines for violating the laws of Brazil.

Meanwhile, the company views the court’s decision as an illegal attempt to sabotage political freedom in Brazil. According to a post by X, the demands of the court are themselves against Brazilian laws. The company has earlier hinted at its decision not to comply with the order.

As reported by the BBC, the company said it was awaiting the suspension as it will not comply with the illegal demands of a Judge who seeks to censor the opinions of his political opponents.

The company said its lawyer was threatened in court for attempting to contest the order of the court. Her accounts were also frozen despite her resignation from the company.

Judge Alexandre is known for suspending social networks in Brazil. Reports indicate that he has been enshrined with the power to solely suspend any social network he deemed illegal and often does so without offering any explanations.

Social networking platforms like Telegram and WhatsApp also faced bans in Brazil in the past.

Elon Musk and Judge Alexandre have been at loggerheads for some time now. Musk accused the judge of deliberately trying to eradicate free speech in Brazil.  Musk believes the Judge wants to silence the opinions of the supporters of opposition political parties in the country.

The Judge sought to suspend the accounts of prominent political opponents who still protest the results of the 2022 elections.

Judge Alexandre, however, accused Musk of obstructing his effort to clean the internet space of Brazil. He argues that Musk’s failure to comply with orders of the court is illegal.  He accused Musk of spreading and promoting the spread of hate speech on X.

The Judge ordered a nationwide suspension of X on Friday.  Accounts of Starlink in Brazil were also frozen. Starlink is an internet service company owned by Musk.