In Brazil, there’s a big feud brewing between Elon Musk and the Brazilian Supreme Court over the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Yesterday, the court issued an ultimatum to Musk – he had 24 hours to send a local representative before 8:00 p.m. local time today. If he didn’t, X would be suspended in Brazil. The court even posted the summons on X and tagged Musk. X missed a deadline imposed by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to name a legal representative in Brazil, triggering the blocks. So, what’s the deal with this feud and why brazil blocks X? Well, it all comes down to misinformation, hate speech, and censorship.
Tensions between Brazil and X have been building for months, ever since the 2022 presidential election and the riots that followed. Supporters of Brazil’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro, were not happy with the election results and tried to overturn them by storming Brazil’s Congress building on January 8, 2023. The riots failed to change the outcome, and Brazil has been cracking down on the rioters ever since.
In April 2024, Brazil asked X to suspend certain accounts – ones possibly linked to the riots or spreading misinformation about the election. X and Musk refused, claiming they weren’t given a good enough reason to block those accounts. Instead, they publicly criticized Brazil’s Supreme Court and one specific judge Alexandre de Moraes leading the case. Musk even compared the judge to Darth Vader and a mix of a Sith Lord and Voldemort. But throwing around insults won’t do much to help Musk’s case.
After a Brazilian Supreme Court Justice ordered the immediate suspension of X in the South American country, its billionaire owner Elon Musk called the move an attack on Free Speech. Musk reminding X users in Brazil that the social media platform can still be accessed through x.com, even on their phones. He emphasized that there is no need for an app.
The judge’s order is the latest chapter in an ongoing feud between the Brazilian Supreme Court Justice and Musk. It follows the freezing of Brazilian bank accounts belonging to satellite internet provider Starlink, which is 40% owned by Musk. In an effort to avoid the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) to dodge the blockage, judge Moraes stated that individuals or companies who tried to access the social network that way could be fined up to 50,000 reais or close to $9,000 a day.
X had posted on its official Global Government Affairs page late Thursday that it expected X to be shut down by Moraes, “simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents.”
In an interview with a local radio station, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Musk needed to respect Brazilian authorities. He cannot keep offending presidents, deputies, senators, Congress, or the Supreme Court. Who does he think he is? The next thing is he needs to respect the decision of the Brazilian Supreme Court.
Look at what’s been going on since the feud started. Musk is being investigated for possibly obstructing justice and inciting crime. X was still getting account suspension orders until recently, so the name and shame strategy failed. That’s when they decided to close their offices in Brazil. They posted about Justice Mores making censorship demands and asking for private information, which led to the decision to shut down on August 17th. X said their services would still be available in Brazil, but now even that is in jeopardy.
The Brazil Supreme Court issued a 24-hour ultimatum for Elon Musk to send a legal representative or risk losing the Brazilian market. It’s a bold move by the court, threatening to hit Musk where it hurts – his wallet. Brazil is a huge market for X, with over 24 million users last year. Losing Brazil would be a big blow to X’s profits, which have been struggling since Musk took over in 2022.
