The Brazilian Supreme Court made a clear decision by shutting down Elon Musk’s social media site X across the whole country. This was done because Musk failed to name a formal representative for the company in Brazil, which is required by law for companies that do business in that country.
The ban, which was directed by Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Court, makes things worse between Musk and the Brazilian courts. The fight started months ago and is mostly about free speech, spreading false information, and the fact that there are far-right accounts on X. Earlier this week, Justice de Moraes sent Musk a warning and said that X would be blocked if the company didn’t follow the rules. The company had 24 hours to respond.
Even though X was warned, it did not name an agent, so the court decided to stop doing business with it in Brazil. People have said that the platform is bad because it lets false information spread, especially about the government of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Justice de Moraes has been looking into these problems and thinks that the platform’s actions (or lack of actions) are a big threat to the freedom of the country.
Musk went on X to complain about the ban. He called Justice de Moraes a “evil dictator” and said he was stifling free speech. This comment supports Musk’s long-held view that free speech is absolute. This view has often put him at odds with law authorities around the world.
The effects of this choice go beyond X. As part of the larger legal dispute, the Brazilian Supreme Court also ruled that bank accounts linked to Starlink, a satellite internet service owned by Musk’s company SpaceX, be frozen. Brazil uses Starlink a lot, especially in rural areas like the Amazon jungle, where it’s an important way to stay in touch. Even though Starlink can’t take funds right now because of the freeze, Musk has promised users that the service will still be free.
About 40 million people in Brazil use X, which is about 15% of the population and a big market for the app. Since Musk bought the site, it has been having more and more problems, including losing a lot of advertising. More and more countries have banned or briefly stopped X, usually because of political unrest or worries about the spread of false information. Brazil is now one of these countries.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil backed the Supreme Court’s ruling and stressed that all businesses in Brazil must follow the country’s laws. He said that Musk was being disrespectful and that no one or company is above the law, no matter how powerful they are around the world.
As Brazil’s Supreme Court gets ready to think more about the case, things are still very tense. There is no set date for a final decision. In the meantime, the legal fight goes on, so users of X in Brazil can’t get to the site.
