Brazilian Supreme Court Upholds Suspension of Social Media Giant 'X'

A Brazilian Supreme Court panel unanimously upheld the suspension of the social media platform X for not complying with a court order to appoint a local legal representative. The ruling resulted in blocking access to more than 20 million users in Brazil, the platform's sixth-largest market globally.

A Brazilian Supreme Court panel voted unanimously on Monday to uphold the suspension of social media giant X in the country, blocking access for more than 20 million users.

Justices Flavio Dino, Cristiano Zanin, Carmen Lucia, and Luiz Fux supported Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who had previously ruled that X should be suspended for not appointing a local legal representative as required by law. The panel indicated that the suspension could be lifted if X complies with previous rulings.

X, which was taken offline in Brazil early Saturday following Moraes' decision, had about 21.5 million users in the country as of April, according to Statista. Moraes and X owner Elon Musk have been embroiled in a months-long feud over the platform's refusals to block accounts accused of spreading misinformation and hate.

Elon Musk has argued that Moraes' actions are an attempt to censor users and closed X's Brazil office in August without appointing a new representative. On Monday, Musk responded, "Exactly," to a post describing the suspension as an attack on freedom of expression and Brazilians' rights.

Supporting Moraes, Justice Dino wrote that a company cannot operate in a country and decide for itself which rules to follow. However, Dino, Zanin, and Fux mentioned they would reconsider the decision if X complies with court rulings.

Chief Justice Luis Roberto Barroso, not on the review panel, said avoiding compliance by removing legal representatives is unacceptable anywhere in the world. Meanwhile, local telecom regulator Anatel told Reuters that Starlink, also controlled by Musk, was not blocking X despite previous orders to do so until a freeze on its Brazilian accounts was lifted. Moraes had frozen Starlink's accounts after X failed to pay fines for not submitting required documents.

(With inputs from agencies.)