Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has ordered the nation’s internet service providers to block the social media platform X. According to The New York Times, the order resulted from owner Elon Musk’s refusal to appoint a legal representative for his case and comply with Moraes’ order to shut down X accounts he deemed harmful to the democratic process. The order has been published online by Brazilian news site Poder 360. Justice Moraes issued a deadline to telecom companies and tech giants, giving Apple and Google five days to remove the X app from their stores. Brazil’s telecommunication agency confirmed receiving the order, and ISPs in the country have 24 hours to comply. The order also makes it a crime to use X through a VPN, punishable by a daily fine. Additionally, Justice Moraes froze the finances of SpaceX’s Starlink internet service provider, owned by Musk, to pressure him to comply. The legal battle stems from the monitoring of false information during Brazil’s 2022 presidential election, with Musk characterizing the directives as censorship orders. Despite threats to ban X entirely from Brazil, Musk continues to resist the court’s orders by closing X’s Brazilian office, citing staff safety concerns.
