Brazil has suspended X, formerly known as Twitter, after the company failed to name a legal representative in the country. The suspension rolled out on Saturday, comes after months of dispute between Elon Musk and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes over free speech issues, far-right accounts and misinformation.
“Elon Musk showed his total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty and, in particular, for the judiciary, setting himself up as a true supranational entity and immune to the laws of each country,” de Moraes wrote, according to Time.
De Moraes established a 24-hour deadline on Aug. 28 and told Musk that the social media platform would be blocked in Brazil if a legal representative wasn’t named. X has not had a representative in the country since early August. Judge de Mores noted that X would stay suspended until the company complies with his orders.
Brazilian internet service providers started suspending access to the social media platform on Saturday. People or companies using VPNs to access X were told they would be subject to a fine of 50,000 reais ($8,900).
“This is a sad day for X users around the world, especially those in Brazil, who are being denied access to our platform. I wish it did not have to come to this — it breaks my heart,” X’s CEO Linda Yaccarino said on Friday, per Time.
On X, celebrity fan/stan accounts and users lamented the shutdown by posting with the hashtag #MyLastTweet.
a kiss to all bardigang, but NO ONE is above brazilians. brazilian bardis, we are the best!!! 🇧🇷💋❤️🔥🤞🏽🦚 https://t.co/wKZzQog23r
— Team Cardi B Brasil🎤 (@teamcardibbr) August 30, 2024
The company said it was shut down in Brazil “simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents,” Time reported.
Brazil has previously closed the X accounts of right-wing party activists and lawmakers accused of being a threat to democracy in the country. On Friday, de Moraes said that the company “clearly intends to continue to encourage posts with extremism, hate speech, and anti-democratic discourse, and to try to withdraw them from jurisdictional control,” according to the news outlet.
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