Elon Musk's social media platform, X (formerly known as Twitter), has been blocked in Brazil after failing to meet a court-ordered deadline to appoint a legal representative in the country.
On Friday evening, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has been embroiled in a dispute with Musk since April, issued an order for the "immediate, complete and total suspension of X's operations" in Brazil. The order will remain in effect until X complies with all court orders, pays outstanding fines, and appoints a new legal representative.
De Moraes has given Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) 24 hours to enforce the decision. Anatel must then relay the order to over 20,000 broadband internet providers across the country, each of which must block access to X. Anatel's President, Carlos Manuel Baigorri, confirmed to the TV channel Globonews that the order has been passed on to internet providers.
"Since we're dealing with more than 20,000 companies, each will have its own implementation time," said Baigorri, "but we expect that probably over the weekend all companies will be able to implement the block."
The court order also extends to Apple and Google, instructing them to "implement technological barriers to prevent the use of the X app by users of the iOS and Android systems" and to block the use of virtual private networks (VPNs).
Users attempting to circumvent the ban by utilising a VPN will face a daily fine of R$50,000 (£6,800).
The deadline for X to appoint a new legal representative expired at 8.07pm local time on Thursday (0.07am BST on Friday). X's parent company publicly announced that it would not comply with the court order.
Musk responded on Friday by posting on X that Brazil was "shutting down the #1 source of truth" and accused the country of "oppressive regime" that is "so afraid of the people learning the truth that they will bankrupt anyone who tries."
The ongoing dispute stems from April when Moraes ordered the suspension of several X accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation, a move Musk denounced as censorship.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva commented on the situation in a radio interview on Friday morning, stating: "Just because the guy [Musk] has a lot of money, doesn't mean they can disrespect you... who does he think he is?"
X has been without a legal representative in Brazil since 17 August, when Musk announced the closure of their operations in the country due to "censorship orders" from Moraes. However, the service remained available to users until now.
Moraes' April order to block certain accounts was part of an investigation into "digital militias" supporting former president Jair Bolsonaro's attempts to retain power following his 2022 election defeat. When Musk refused to comply, the judge included him in the investigation.
On Wednesday, Moraes gave X 24 hours to appoint a new legal representative, a requirement for foreign companies operating in Brazil. Failure to comply would result in the "immediate suspension of the social network's activities," he warned.
In its statement announcing non-compliance, X claimed it "would not comply with his [Moraes'] illegal orders to censor his political opponents."
Responding to Musk's refusal, Lula stated that "any and all citizens from anywhere in the world who have investments in Brazil are subject to the Brazilian constitution and Brazilian laws."
Lula added that Musk "must respect the decision of the Brazilian supreme court⦠If not, this country will never be sovereign."
Further developments came to light on Thursday when it was revealed that Moraes had blocked the local bank accounts of Starlink, Musk's satellite and internet provider, on 18 August. This action was intended to enforce fines levied against X for refusing to remove profiles accused of spreading misinformation and anti-democratic content. As of Friday, the fines against X total R$18.3m (£2.5m).
Starlink and X are both part of Musk's vast business empire, which also includes SpaceX and Tesla.
Legal experts have criticised Moraes' decision to target Starlink, arguing that it is a separate entity despite being owned by the same individual and should not be held responsible for X's actions.
Starlink responded to the decision in an email to clients, stating: "Although this illegal request may affect our ability to receive your monthly payment⦠we will continue to provide services to you free of charge, if necessary."
For now, Starlink, which is a dominant internet provider in the Amazon, remains operational.
On Friday, Starlink filed a request with the supreme court to have Moraes' decision suspended and its bank accounts unfrozen. Alternatively, they requested the freeze be limited to the total fines against X. There is no indication as to when this request will be reviewed.
