The judge ordered a complete and immediate suspension of X’s activities in the country until all relevant court orders against X are complied with.
A Brazilian Supreme Court judge issued an “immediate cease and desist” order against social media platform X on Friday, after a court deadline expired for the platform to appoint legal representation in Brazil.
The move is the latest in an ongoing feud between Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Morais and Elon Musk, which also included the freezing of the financial accounts of satellite internet provider Starlink in Brazil.
In his ruling, de Moraes ordered X to be completely and immediately suspended from Brazil until it complies with all relevant court orders, including paying a fine of R$18.5 million ($3.28 million) and appointing legal representation in Brazil.
De Moraes ordered telecom regulator Anatel to comply with the cease-and-desist order and certify to the court within 24 hours that it has complied.
De Moraes said individuals or companies who try to stay connected to social networks that way, such as by using a virtual private network (VPN) to bypass the blocking, could be fined up to R$50,000 ($8,900) per day.
X said late Thursday that it expected a Supreme Court judge to issue a closure order “soon” after the court ruled against the company’s deadline to appoint a legal representative in Brazil.
Earlier this year, de Moraes ordered X to block certain accounts implicated in an investigation into so-called digital militias accused of spreading distorted news and hate speech.
Musk responded by denouncing the order as censorship and shutting down the platform’s offices in Brazil. X (formerly Twitter) said at the time that its services were still available in Brazil.
In a fundamental feud surrounding X, Brazil’s Supreme Court also blocked the domestic bank accounts of Starlink, the satellite internet company in which Musk owns 40%, prompting the company to ask the court on Friday to block the decision.
