Brazil has officially blocked access to Elon Musk’s X social media platform after Musk ignored a series of court orders, marking the latest development in a prolonged legal battle between the billionaire and Brazilian authorities.
The country’s telecommunications regulator announced the ban on Friday, following a directive from Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Justice Moraes ordered Brazil’s telecom agency to implement the nationwide ban within 24 hours due to the platform’s failure to establish a physical presence in the country.
The court order comes after X missed a Thursday deadline to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, which ultimately triggered the suspension.
Musk, who closed X’s office in Brazil last week after facing potential arrests for not complying with Moraes’ orders to remove accounts violating Brazilian laws, criticized the judge’s actions. He described the orders as illegal and accused Moraes of undermining free speech for political reasons.
“Free speech is the bedrock of democracy, and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes,” Musk stated on Friday.
In addition to blocking X, Justice Moraes mandated Apple and Google to remove X and popular VPN apps from their stores. The court also warned that individuals using VPNs to access the banned platform could face fines of up to $8,874 per day.
The suspension of X, which Musk called “the #1 source of truth in Brazil,” has sparked a heated debate over free speech and the role of judiciary power in the digital age.
As the legal confrontation escalates, the future of X in Brazil remains uncertain, with potential implications for other nations observing this case.
