Supreme Court of Brazil has ordered social media platform X be blocked
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Rio de Janeiro: Justice Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil's Supreme Court issued an order banning social media site X countrywide after the corporation declined to name a legal representative in the nation.
Elon Musk's company X was given a 24-hour window by de Moraes earlier on Wednesday to submit a representative. On August 17, X announced the shutdown of its Brazil branch, citing threats to jail its previous legal representative.
X had been in conflict with de Moraes for months over the platform's refusal to comply with court orders to remove profiles that promote coup-related content or undermine democracy, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Friday, the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) also ordered X to pay fines amounting to 18 million reais (about $3.2 million) for non-compliance.
The judge justified the block decision, citing the company's repeated, willful defiance of court orders and refusal to pay daily fines, accusing X of attempting to bypass Brazil's legal system and create a "lawless zone" on social media, especially in the lead-up to the 2024 municipal elections.
De Moraes added that X has facilitated "the actions of extremist groups and digital militias, enabling the spread of Nazi, racist, fascist, hateful, and anti-democratic speech", particularly ahead of the upcoming elections.
The Brazilian judge also instructed the country's National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to block access to X within 24 hours. Apple and Google have been given five days to remove the X app from their online stores.
Additionally, a daily fine of 50,000 reais (about $10,000) was imposed on any individual or company that uses methods such as VPNs to access X after the ban.
With inputs from IANS
