A Brazilian Supreme Court justice has ordered the immediate suspension of social media platform X in the country after the company failed to comply with court orders. The decision by Justice Alexandre de Moraes comes as part of an ongoing feud between him and Elon Musk, which also led to the freezing of Starlink’s financial accounts in Brazil.
The suspension of X in Brazil is contingent on the company paying fines amounting to 18.5 million reais and appointing a legal representative in the country. De Moraes has directed the country’s telecommunications regulator, Anatel, to carry out the suspension and report back to the court within 24 hours.
To prevent users from bypassing the block with VPNs, de Moraes warned of fines up to 50,000 reais per day for individuals or companies caught doing so. X, formerly known as Twitter, had anticipated the shutdown after failing to meet the deadline for appointing a legal representative in Brazil.
Earlier this year, de Moraes had ordered X to block certain accounts linked to spreading misinformation and hate. Musk criticized this as censorship and responded by closing X’s offices in Brazil, although the services remained accessible in the country.
Aside from the X dispute, Brazil’s Supreme Court also froze the local bank accounts of Starlink, a satellite internet company partially owned by Musk. Starlink has requested the court to suspend this decision, adding another layer to the ongoing conflict between the tech billionaire and Brazilian authorities.
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