X, formerly known as Twitter, is facing the possibility of being blocked in Brazil after failing to appoint a new legal representative within the deadline set by the country’s Supreme Court.
Earlier this month, X closed its office in Brazil, citing threats of arrest against its representative for not complying with what the company described as “censorship” orders.
The conflict between X and Brazilian authorities has been ongoing for several months, beginning in April when Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of several X accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, has threatened to reinstate the suspended accounts and has publicly criticized Judge Moraes, labeling him a “tyrant” and a “dictator.”
Judge Moraes gave X a 24-hour ultimatum to name a new legal representative or face suspension, with the deadline passing at 20:00 local time (23:00 GMT) on Thursday.
The order stated that X would remain banned until it complies by naming a representative and paying fines for alleged legal violations in Brazil.
Shortly after the deadline, X posted from an official account, asserting that they had not complied with the order.
The company suggested that a shutdown by Judge Moraes was imminent, stating, “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.”
X further argued that the judge was demanding actions that would violate Brazil’s own laws and declared, “We simply won’t do that.”
The company emphasized that it would not secretly comply with what it deemed “illegal orders,” and promised to release the judge’s demands publicly “in the interests of transparency.”
Judge Moraes had previously ordered the blocking of X accounts linked to disinformation, particularly those supporting former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, while they were under investigation.
He also warned that X’s legal representatives would be held accountable if any of these accounts were reactivated.
In a related development, the Brazilian Supreme Court has frozen the bank accounts of Musk’s satellite internet firm, Starlink, following a separate order.
Starlink responded on X, criticizing the decision as “unfounded” and arguing that it should not be held responsible for the fines imposed on X, which it claims are unconstitutional.
Musk also clarified on X that “SpaceX and X are two completely different companies with different shareholders,” highlighting that Starlink is a subsidiary of his rocket firm SpaceX.
Brazil has significant potential for Starlink, especially in remote regions like the Amazon, and the company had received approval to operate in the country in 2022 under then-President Bolsonaro.
Judge Moraes, known for his efforts to regulate social media platforms in Brazil, is also investigating Bolsonaro and his supporters for their alleged involvement in an attempted coup on January 8th of last year.
X is not the first social media platform to face legal pressures in Brazil.
Telegram was temporarily banned last year for failing to cooperate with requests to block certain profiles, and Meta’s WhatsApp experienced similar bans in 2015 and 2016 for refusing to provide user data to authorities.
Source-BBC
