Brazil's Supreme Court is expected to block access to X in the country of more than 200 million people, as a top judge clashes with the site's owner, Elon Musk.
Musk has been embroiled in a months-long feud with Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes over X’s moderation policies. Earlier this year, Moraes opened an investigation into X after Musk rejected a court order to block accounts supporting former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro that were allegedly spreading fake news and hate speech.
Internet companies are required to have a legal representative in Brazil who can act as an intermediary between the government and the company. X currently does not have one, since the site closed its offices in Brazil earlier this year after Moraes threatened the legal representative with arrest as part of the investigation. A Supreme Court-imposed deadline for X to install a new representative went into effect Thursday night.
“We expect shortly that Judge Alexandre de Moraes will order the closure of X in Brazil, simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents,” X’s global affairs account claimed in a post Thursday night. “These enemies include a lawfully elected senator and a 16-year-old girl.”
Musk quoted that report, claiming that Moraes is “an evil dictator posing as a judge.”
In his statement, X called the court's decisions a violation of Brazilian law. According to him, they are “illegal” and it would publish all related judicial documents.
Moraes' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As of Friday morning, X appeared to still be available in Brazil, with users posting from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Still, it seems the wheels are turning. Moraes this week froze bank accounts of Starlink, the satellite internet company in which Musk owns a portion. A statement from Starlink to X said the company had a quarter of a million customers in Brazil and that the action was an “unfounded” attempt to hold Starlink accountable for fines imposed on X for failing to hand over documents. The company said it would seek a legal solution.
If a country the size of Brazil were to block X, it would be a major event by any measure. But it’s worth noting that this comes at a time when there’s a global push to rein in big platforms and their billionaire owners.
This week, billionaire Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France and accused of “complicity” in a series of serious crimes that took place on the app, which has over the years developed a reputation for being loosely moderated. The arrest sent shockwaves through the global tech industry, with Musk calling these “dangerous times.”
