X, the social network led by Elon Musk, has faced a suspension in Brazil after failing to appoint a legal representative in accordance with a Supreme Court justice’s order.
The platform missed a court-imposed deadline on 29 August 2024, prompting the Brazilian government to enforce the ban.
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According to Reuters, the suspension comes at a challenging time for Musk, who has been grappling with advertising revenue issues on the platform.
Despite the ban, X remained accessible in Brazil until late 30 August, with some users reporting blocked access, while others continued to use the service.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes has been at the forefront of the dispute, advocating for hate speech regulations on social media.
In contrast, Musk has criticised the justice’s stance, labelling it as an attempt at unjustified censorship.
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By GlobalDataAs per the news agency, the disagreement has escalated, leading to the freezing of Starlink’s bank accounts in Brazil.
Starlink, a subsidiary of Musk’s SpaceX, provides satellite internet services.
Moraes’ ruling stipulates that X’s operations in Brazil be suspended until the platform complies with all court orders, including the payment of fines and the appointment of a local representative as mandated by Brazilian law.
To enforce the suspension, telecommunications companies in Brazil are required to halt X’s network traffic and prevent users from bypassing the ban using VPNs.
The root of the conflict lies in an earlier order by Moraes that demanded the platform block accounts involved in investigations related to the dissemination of false news and hate speech.
Musk responded to the order by shutting down the company’s offices in Brazil but kept the platform operational in the country.
In a separate development, The Verge reported a surge in Brazilian users migrating to Bluesky, an alternative social network that resembles X but operates as a decentralised platform using the AT Protocol developed by Bluesky.
