X, previously called Twitter, said on Thursday that it expects Brazil’s top court to shut it down. This is a legal battle over compliance with local laws and X owner Elon Musk, who insists the platform is being punished for resisting censorship.
X said it expected Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes to order the shutdown “soon.” This came in after a court-imposed deadline for the company to identify a legal representative in Brazil was passed on Thursday evening.
Just before midnight, X was still working normally in the country.
Earlier on Thursday, the Supreme Court blocked the local bank accounts of billionaire Musk’s Starlink satellite internet firm. The underlying feud over X put it on the brink of being shuttered in one of its top markets.
Both firms play a huge role in Musk’s empire. Car giant Tesla and rocket company Space X are also part of it. He owns X, 40% of SpaceX and is the CEO of Tesla.
The series of events on Thursday night led to Musk lashing out at Moraes. He called Moraes an “evil dictator” in a newly pinned post. He also decried the ruling to block Starlink as illegal, and claimed the action “improperly” punishes shareholders and all Brazilians.
More so, Musk went ahead to announce that Starlink’s parent company SpaceX will provide free internet service until X returns.
LIES AND CENSORSHIP
The Supreme court’s decision to sanction Starlink is a response to the lack of legal representatives in Brazil for X.
A dispute over unpaid fines led to the decision of freezing Starlink’s bank accounts. X was ordered to pay due to its failure to turn over some documents. The fines are reported to be at least 20 million reais ($3.6 million), but the value could not be confirmed.
The Supreme Court had set a deadline for X to name its legal representative in Brazil by shortly after 8:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Brazilian law requires all internet companies to have a legal representative in the country. The representative is for the company to receive judicial orders or else it would be legally responsible for the business.
At issue in the intensifying dispute is whether Moraes can order X to block certain accounts. These orders were accused of spreading lies and distortions. Musk has requested to denounce this as censorship.
In a previous post, Musk complained that Moraes “is an outright criminal of the worst kind, masquerading as a judge.”
Starlink, in its own post, accused the judge of secretly issuing the order without due process.
JUDGE V. BILLIONAIRE
The cumulative digital and legal disputes could cause X to lose a major market, while Musk struggles with ad revenue.
Earlier this month, X announced it would shut down in Latin America’s largest economy due to “censorship orders” from Moraes. However, the platform would still be available to Brazilian users.
Most of the accounts ordered blocked are run by backers of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Some of these accounts denied that he lost his 2022 reelection bid.
Earlier this year, Moraes ordered X to block certain accounts linked to digital militias spreading distortions and hate during Jair Bolsonaro’s term.
Musk challenged this decision and said he would reactivate the blocked accounts. This prompted Moraes to open an April inquiry into Musk’s businesses.
X representatives later agreed to comply with the rulings but were asked in April by Moraes to explain non-compliance.
In response, X lawyers cited “operational faults” that allowed blocked users to remain active on the platform.
PLATFORM IMPORTANCE
As the situation unfolded, many Brazilians on X shared creative memes about the judge and the controversial billionaire.
Some X users criticised Moraes’ ruling, claiming it undermined freedom of speech. Some others supported Moraes, emphasising that Musk must follow Brazilian law.
(with inputs from Reuters)
