A BRAZILIAN supreme court justice has banned X after Elon Musk refused to name a legal representative in the country.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes and Musk have previously crashed when the billionaire refused to block users on the social media platform.
De Moraes warned Musk on Wednesday night that X could be blocked from Brazil if he didn’t name a representative, per a copy of the decision seen by The Associated Press.
Foreign companies need a representative to legally do business in Brazil.
The judge gave Musk 24 hours to comply which Musk refused to follow.
Brazil has not had an X representative since early August and De Moraes said the social media site will be blocked until Musk appoints one.
De Moraes also instated a fine of 50,000 Brazilian reals, the equivalent of nearly $9,000, for people who try to use a virtual private network to access X.
Musk’s platform is banned in other countries including Russia, China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Venezuela, and Turkmenistan, according to The Associated Press.
A statement was posted to X on the site’s Global Government Affairs page stating its awareness of the ban and why it was happening.
It also discussed what happened with the company’s former legal representative.
“When we attempted to defend ourselves in court, Judge de Moraes threatened our Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment. Even after she resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts,” it read.
“Our challenges against his manifestly illegal actions were either dismissed or ignored. Judge de Moraes’ colleagues on the Supreme Court are either unwilling or unable to stand up to him.”
The statement also affirmed the company has no intention of breaking Brazil’s laws and plans to “publish all of Judge de Moraes’ illegal demands and all related court filings in the interest of transparency.”
“Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders. To our users in Brazil and around the world, X remains committed to protecting your freedom of speech.”
In April, the pair spared once again with Musk arguing the judge was “violating Brazillian law.”
“Coming shortly, X will publish everything demanded by @Alexandre and how those requests violate Brazilian law,” Elon wrote.
Elon Musk bought the social media app citing altruistic reasonings for his aquisition.
April 2022: Negotiations for Musk to purchase Twitter began.
October 27, 2022: Musk finalized his purchase of X and began his rebranding efforts.
November 1, 2022: Twitter boars is dissolved, making Musk the “sole director” of the site.
July 23, 2023: Musk announces icon rebranding and X users point out the switch. “And soon we shall bid adieu to the Twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds,” he wrote.
July 24, 2023: Musk revealed the reason for the rebranding. “The Twitter name made sense when it was just 140 character messages going back and forth – like birds tweeting – but now you can post almost anything, including several hours of video,” he said.
“This judge has brazenly and repeatedly betrayed the constitution and people of Brazil. He should resign or be impeached. Shame @Alexandre, shame.”
Someone commented a picture of De Moraes in a black robe staring off-camera under his post.
Musk commented, “Brazil’s Dark Vader!”
In another encounter about the demands, a user wrote, “Elon Musk says X will defy order from Brazil’s Supreme Court after Twitter files.”
The billionaire wrote back, “
The X owner replied to the tweet saying, “These are the most draconian demands of any country on Earth!”
Musk has previously labeled himself a “free speech absolutist” and challenged De Moraes by lifting the restriction on accounts the judge found unconstitutional.
“We are lifting all restrictions. This judge has applied massive fines, threatened to arrest our employees, and cut off access to X in Brazil,” he wrote in a tweet.
“As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there. But principles matter more than profit.”
De Moraes said the Supreme Court would be investigating Musk for obstruction of justice and fined 100,000 reais, $$19,740, a day if he failed to block certain accounts.
