Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court judge, ordered the “immediate and complete suspension” of social media platform X in Brazil, the BBC reported on Aug 31. The judge directed the country’s telecom agency to block access to X, causing the platform to go dark earlier today, according to the New York Times.
The ban was imposed after CEO Elon Musk failed to meet the judge’s deadline to appoint a new legal representative in the country. The ban will stay in place until the company complies with the court orders and pays existing fines totaling $3 million.
According to an X user, the judge will also levy fines of $8,874 per day for using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X after the ban. Additionally, app stores of Google and Apple have five days to block access to the app and comply with the ban.
In April, the court had ordered the platform to suspend certain X accounts that violated Brazilian laws by spreading disinformation. Musk had ignored the court’s orders, upholding free speech as a basic right.
Last week, Musk shuttered its Brazilian office after Justice Moraes warned of impending arrests for failing to comply with his April order.
On Friday, Musk wrote on X:
“Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes.”
Months of tension
Musk and Judge Moraes have been at loggerheads for months. Musk claims that the judge is trying to silence conservative opinions. This is because Judge Moraes ordered the suspension of X accounts that mainly belonged to supporters of former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro.
The official account of X posted yesterday that:
“Soon, we expect Judge Alexandre de Moraes will order X to be shut down in Brazil – simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents.”
It added that the opponents include an elected senator and a 16-year-old girl. Furthermore, X stressed that Judge Moraes is forcing the platform to violate Brazil’s laws, which it will not.
Judge Moraes, however, claims that Musk is obstructing his attempt to clean up the country’s internet. Calling Musk an “outlaw,” Judge Moraes’ order stated that Musk intends to “allow the massive spread of disinformation, hate speech and attacks on the democratic rule of law, violating the free choice of the electorate, by keeping voters away from real and accurate information.”
Musk’s other businesses face repercussions
To put pressure on Musk and in an attempt to collect the fines levied on X, Judge Moraes has also frozen the funds of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite-internet service. The order also prohibits Starlink from conducting financial transactions in the country.
Starlink said it plans to fight the order. In a post on X, it wrote:
“This order is based on an unfounded determination that Starlink should be responsible for the fines levied—unconstitutionally—against X.”
Starlink added that the order, which was issued in secret, did not allow for any due process that is guaranteed by Brazil’s constitution.
Calling Judge Moraes a “dictator” another user, WSBChairman, noted:
“They will fine you more than a year’s salary for trying to read the news. We are living in 1984.”
Tech lawyer Preston Byrne observed that if X loses the fight in Brazil, the European Union, U.K., Australia, and Canada will be next to ban X. However, if X wins, “censorship regimes around the world will be shown to be toothless vs Americans, and rapidly fall.”
