Brazilian Supreme Court Threatens to Suspend X Within 24 Hours

The Supreme Court's Judge Alexandre de Moraes speaks during a session in Brasilia, Brazil, on June 18, 2024. Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images

The Brazilian Supreme Court has said it will suspend social media platform X unless Elon Musk appoints a new legal representative within 24 hours.

In a court order published on X at 6 p.m. local time Wednesday, Justice Alexandre de Moraes demanded that Musk appoint a new legal representative for X Brasil in response to a petition filed against the company.

De Moraes said that if Musk fails to comply with requirements within 24 hours, the court will order the immediate suspension of X’s operations in Brazil.

On Aug. 17, the social media company closed operations in Brazil to protect staff, saying that its legal representative in Brazil had been threatened with arrest if the company did not comply with a court order.

Musk responded to the latest Supreme Court order on Aug. 29 on X with an AI image of de Moraes behind bars in which he wrote: “One day,  @Alexandre, this picture of you in prison will be real. Mark my words.”

While Musk accuses Brazil of censorship, Brazilian authorities insist X is breaking the country’s internet laws.

Earlier this year, de Moraes ordered X to block certain accounts, as he investigates so-called digital militias accused of spreading fake news and hate messages during the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro.

X owner Musk was included as part of the criminal inquiry into individuals who allegedly spread false information about Brazil’s election and justice system.

Court Orders

On April 7, de Moraes said Musk will be probed for alleged obstruction of justice, criminal organization, and incitement, according to multiple reports.

“The flagrant conduct of obstruction of Brazilian justice, incitement of crime, the public threat of disobedience of court orders and future lack of cooperation from the platform are facts that disrespect the sovereignty of Brazil,” the judge said.

He said the social media platform “shall refrain from disobeying any court order already issued, including performing any profile reactivation that has been blocked by this Supreme Court.”

The justice warned that X will face a fine of 100,000 reais (about $19,740) per day if it fails to comply with the court order.

X claims that it stated that it had been forced by court decisions to block “certain popular accounts in Brazil” and was prohibited from disclosing the targeted accounts. On August 13 it shared a document with the accounts.

“This letter demands censorship of popular Brazilian accounts, including a pastor, a current Parliamentarian, and the wife of a former Parliamentarian. We believe the Brazilian people should know what is being asked of us,” its X’s global government affairs account wrote it a statement.

On August 17 X wrote that de Moraes had sent “a secret order” that threatened its legal representative in Brazil with arrest if it did not comply with his “censorship orders.”

“As a result, to protect the safety of our staff, we have made the decision to close our operation in Brazil, effective immediately,” it reads. “The X service remains available to the people of Brazil.”

Musk then said that he would close its operations in Brazil “effective immediately” while adding the firm’s service would remain available for users in Brazil.

“The decision to close the 𝕏 office in Brazil was difficult, but, if we had agreed to @alexandre’s (illegal) secret censorship and private information handover demands, there was no way we could explain our actions without being ashamed,” he said.

Regulatory Battles

Musk is well-acquainted with regulatory battles worldwide.

Last week, Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner for the Internal Market, sent a letter to Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino concerning a broadcast with former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“With great audience comes greater responsibility,” Breton wrote in a post accompanying the letter on X.

“As there is a risk of amplification of potentially harmful content in connection with events with major audiences around the world, I sent this letter to [Elon Musk].”

Musk responded directly to Breton’s letter with a meme that included a vulgar word.

Aldgra Fredly contributed to this report.