Elon Musk's X Faces Possible Ban In Brazil

X, previously known as Twitter, has indicated that it expects to be blocked in Brazil after missing the deadline to appoint a new legal representative for the company. Earlier this month, the Elon Musk-owned platform closed its office in Brazil, saying its representative had been threatened with arrest. Amid the ongoing dispute, Brazil's Supreme Court has blocked bank accounts of Elon Musk's Starlink services.

The dispute began when the Brazilian Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of dozens of X accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation. Elon Musk has reportedly threatened to reactivate the accounts. As per Brazil’s laws, social networks are required to employ someone in the country who can receive and consider government takedown notices about political misinformation, reported CNBC. However, the microblogging platform recently removed its employees.

Soon, we expect Judge Alexandre de Moraes will order X to be shut down in Brazil – simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents. These enemies include a duly elected Senator and a 16-year-old girl, among others.

When we attempted…

— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) August 29, 2024

On Wednesday, Justice Moraes asked X to name a new legal representative within 24 hours or face suspension. "Soon, we expect Judge Alexandre de Moraes will order X to be shut down in Brazil – simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents," wrote X in a post on August 30 shortly after the deadline expired. "In the days to come, we will publish all of Judge de Moraes’ illegal demands and all related court filings in the interest of transparency," the post added.

X is not only the first social media to face pressure from Brazilian authorities. Last year, Telegram was briefly banned for not cooperating with requests to block certain accounts. WhatsApp also reportedly experienced temporary bans in 2015 and 2016 for refusing police requests for using data.