The Federal Supreme Court (STF) in Brazil suspended Elon Musk’s social network after it failed to comply with Minister Alexandre de Moraes’ order to block the accounts of people facing the Brazilian judicial system investigate.
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X must pay a final fine before the social network is owned by X Elon Musk is allowed online again in Brazil, according to a decision Friday from the country’s top judge, Alexandre de Moraes.
The platform was suspended nationwide at the end of August, a decision the jury approved of September 2. Earlier this month, X filed paperwork with Brazil’s supreme court that it was now complying with orders it had previously challenged.
EQUAL G1 Globo of Brazil reports, X must now pay a new fine of 10 million reals (about $2 million) for two more days of non-compliance with the court order. X’s legal representative in Brazil, Rachel de Oliveira, also had to pay a fine of 300,000 reals.
The case began in April, when de Moraes, minister of Brazil’s highest court, known as the Supreme Court Federal (STF), initiated an investigation into Musk and reason.
Musk has vowed to defy court orders to take down some accounts in Brazil. He called the court’s actions “censorship” and criticized de Moraes online, describing the judge as a “criminal” and encouraged the US to stop foreign aid to Brazil.
In mid-August, Musk closed the X office in Brazil. That leaves his company without legal representation in the country, a federal requirement for all tech platforms to do business there.
By August 28, de Moraes’s court threatened bans and fines if X did not appoint legal representatives within 24 hours and if X did not comply with takedown requests for the accounts it granted that he participated in a conspiracy to sabotage or harm federal agents, among other things.
Earlier this month, the STF froze the business assets of Musk’s companies, including X and satellite internet business Starlink, which operates in Brazil. The STF said in court filings that it views SpaceX and X, Starlink’s parent company, as companies working together as related parties.
Musk wrote in a post on X at the time that, “Unless the Brazilian government returns the illegally confiscated assets of SpaceX and SpaceX, we will also seek to confiscate government assets in a reciprocal manner.”
On August 29, 2024, in Brazil, the Supreme Court, STF Minister Alexandre de Moraes, ordered the blocking of the account of another company, Starlink, of Elon Musk, to ensure payment of funds fine imposed by the STF due to X’s lack of representation in Brazil.
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As head of the STF, de Moraes has long advocated for federal regulations to limit hate speech and online misinformation. His views have faced opposition from technology companies and far-right officials in the country, along with former President Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters.
Bolsonaro is under investigationis suspected of staging a coup in Brazil after losing the 2022 presidential election to incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
While Musk called for sanctions against de Moraes and Lula, he has worked with and praised Bolsonaro for years. The former Brazilian president has authorized SpaceX to provide satellite internet services commercially in Brazil by 2022.
Musk claims to be a defender of free speech, but his record shows otherwise. Under his management, X deleted content critical of the ruling parties in Türkiye and India before the government’s determination. X agrees more than 80% According to the technology news site’s analysis of the number of government takedown requests in 2023 compared to the same period the previous year The rest of the world.
X faces growing competition in Brazil from social apps such as Meta-owned Threads and Bluesky, which have attracted users during the pause.
Starlink also faces competition in Brazil from eSpace, a Franco-American company that was granted a license by the National Telecommunications Authority (Anatel) this year to provide satellite internet services in the country.
Lukas Darien, a lawyer and law professor at Brazil’s Facex University Center, told CNBC that the STF’s enforcement actions against X will likely change the way big tech companies view the courts.
“There are no changes to the law here,” Darien wrote in a text message. “But large tech companies, in particular, are now aware that the law will apply regardless of the size of the business and its reach in the country.”
Musk and X representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
Late Thursday, X Global Government Relations posted following statement:
“X is committed to protecting freedom of expression within the law, and we recognize and respect the sovereignty of the countries in which we operate. We believe that it is right for the Brazilian people to have access to necessary for a thriving democracy and we will continue to protect freedom of expression and due process of law through legal proceedings.”
CLOCK: X is a financial “disaster”.
