Brazil’s Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes has ordered the countrywide suspension of social media platform X after its owner Elon Musk refused to appoint a new legal representative for the platform in the country, media reports.
On August 29, Moraes sent Musk a subpoena warning that the X administration must comply with his order and appoint a legal representative in Brazil within 24 hours, otherwise the social network would be suspended, Interfax reports. After this period, X was blocked in Brazil.
Judge Moraes imposed daily fines of 50,000 reais (around $9,000) on those who use virtual private networks (particularly VPNs) or other methods of accessing the platform. The ruling will remain in effect until Company X complies with all court orders and pays all fines, according to a press release on the court’s website.
Elon Musk wrote in this regard on the social network X: “Freedom of speech is the foundation of democracy, and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes.”
Musk’s internet satellite company Starlink said on Aug. 30 that Moraes had issued an order freezing the company’s finances and preventing it from conducting financial transactions in Brazil. The order stems from a standoff between Musk’s social network and Judge Moraes, Starlink said in a statement to X.