Oh, how rare it is for a day to go by without hearing Elon Musk’s name on the news. The South African tech tycoon seems to constantly be at the receiving end of some kind of controversy, and this week is not different. Over the past five days, X (formerly known as Twitter) has been banned by Brazilian authorities after months of legal troubles.
The measure, which took effect on Aug. 30, was triggered by X’s failure to appoint a new representative to appear before the country’s Supreme Court by an imposed deadline. As a result, an immediate nationwide suspension was enforced, cutting the world’s fifth-largest population of internet users off from the social media platform. The ruling also included a five-day window for companies like Google and Apple to remove the app from their respective digital stores. It also added that individuals and businesses caught using the microblogging service via a VPN could be fined R$50,000 ($8,910).
The sentence comes as another escalation of tensions between Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and Musk himself. A few weeks ago, de Moraes ordered that a handful of X accounts needed to be shut down, while pending investigation, following accusations pertaining to the spread of false information. And though similar requests have been made in the past and have been reluctantly complied with, this time, Musk’s team decided to put its foot down, going as far as describing the demand as “draconian,” per a post by the 53-year-old.
These are the most draconian demands of any country on Earth! https://t.co/BkLq52cDtW
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 7, 2024
He also claimed that de Moraes has “brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil” and called for his immediate resignation or impeachment.
Coming shortly, 𝕏 will publish everything demanded by @Alexandre and how those requests violate Brazilian law.
This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached.
Shame @Alexandre, shame.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 7, 2024
From a corporate perspective, X’s Global Government Affairs team posted: “We believe that such orders are not in accordance with the Marco Civil da Internet or the Brazilian Federal Constitution, and we challenge the orders legally where possible,” the statement read. “The people of Brazil, regardless of their political beliefs, are entitled to freedom of speech, due process, and transparency from their own authorities,” it added.
X has since closed its office in Brazil and claimed that its representative had been threatened with arrest. Access to the platform now appears to be caught in a standoff, with no clear resolution in sight. According to circulating news, the app’s ban will remain in effect until all court orders are fully complied with, including appointing a new legal representative in Brazil and settling all related fines.
Since then, Brazilian X users—now ex-X users—have flocked to other platforms to speak their minds, with Bluesky quickly becoming the go-to alternative after the ban was imposed, registering half a million new users from Brazil in 48 hours alone.
