By Lisandra Paraguassu, Luana Maria Benedito and Ricardo Brito
SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s telecommunications regulator said on Friday it has suspended access to Elon Musk’s social network investor.
The popular social media platform missed a court-imposed deadline to appoint a legal representative in Brazil on Thursday evening, leading to the suspension.
Musk has argued that Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes was trying to enforce unwarranted censorship, while the judge has insisted that social media needs rules on hate speech.
“They are shutting down the most important source of truth in Brazil,” Musk said in a post on X on Friday.
The judge’s ruling could result in X losing one of its largest and most coveted markets, at a time when Musk has struggled with advertising revenue for the platform.
X remained accessible in Brazil late Friday, although some Brazilians posted on other platforms that their access to X had already been blocked. Three of the country’s largest telecommunications companies said they would start blocking access from midnight (0300 GMT on Saturday), according to a report by local news channel UOL.
The feud led to the freezing of the bank accounts of satellite internet provider Starlink in Brazil this week. Starlink is part of the Musk-led rocket company SpaceX.
In his ruling, Moraes ordered that X, formerly Twitter, be suspended in Brazil until it complies with all related court orders, including the payment of more than $3 million in fines, as well as the appointment of a local representative, as required by the Brazilian authorities. law.
Moraes also ordered telecom regulator Anatel to implement the suspension order.
The agency told Reuters it was continuing compliance, but without providing a timeline.
To effectively shut down
Moraes ordered that those who continued to access X through VPNs be fined up to 50,000 reais ($9,000) per day.
Tech giants Apple (NASDAQ:) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:)’s Google were initially ordered to remove to open the X app on phones or tablets.
But Moraes later reversed that part of his order, saying it would not be necessary.
Press agencies for Apple and Google declined to comment.
LAP DOGS AND DICTATORS?
Unlike in many other countries, Brazil’s Supreme Court judges can exercise sweeping powers to make unilateral decisions. But in the dispute over X, Moraes is supported by a majority of the 11-member court, including Chief Justice Roberto Barroso.
Musk not only owns X and 40% of SpaceX, but is also the CEO of electric car giant Tesla (NASDAQ:).
The dispute over
Musk denounced the order as censorship. He responded by closing the company’s offices in Brazil, but ensured the platform was still available in the country.
He has said Starlink would continue to serve Brazilians, including the military, for free “until this issue is resolved.”
Earlier on Friday, Starlink asked the High Court to suspend its decision to freeze its local bank accounts, arguing that it has complied with all court orders. That request was denied on Friday evening.
Asked for comment, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stressed that all companies operating in the country must comply with their legal obligations.
“The fact that a man has a lot of money does not mean that he cannot respect the law,” the left-wing leader told local radio on Friday.
Musk mocked the president as Moraes’ “lapdog” in a Thursday post in which he also called the judge a “dictator.”
During an event on Friday, Moraes showed no signs of backing down.
“Those who violate democracy, who violate basic human rights, whether in person or through social media, must be held accountable,” he said.
($1 = 5.6121 reais)
