Brazil threatens to block X unless Musk appoints the social network’s legal representative in the country

Brazil’s Supreme Court has given the owner of social network X, Elon Musk, 24 hours to appoint a legal representative of the platform in the country – otherwise the platform will be blocked in a state with a population of 200 million people.

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Last week, Mr. Musk closed X’s office in Brazil to protest a Supreme Court judge’s order to block certain accounts on the platform. If the platform administration now refuses to comply, the social network risks losing access to one of the largest markets outside the United States – this is critical for a company that is struggling with a mass exodus of advertisers. The court published its order the night before with the expectation that Musk would have to respond by 20:00 local time on Thursday (02:00 August 30 Moscow time).

The incident is a test for Musk of his convictions. He shapes Social Network X’s policies according to his own views on free speech, and his response will show how far he is willing to go to protect the platform from what he views as censorship. The businessman has been embroiled in a months-long dispute in absentia with Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, whom he accused of trying to censor conservative political voices online.

Judge Moraes ordered the suspension of more than a hundred accounts on Platform X, citing his decision to combat disinformation, hate speech and attacks on democracy. Most of the accounts belong to supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro who disagree with his defeat in the 2022 elections. Musk openly supported Bolsonaro – with the participation of the former head of state, the satellite provider Starlink began operating in Brazil.

Moraes has repeatedly pointed out the requirement of Brazilian law that for foreign online services to operate in the country, a legal representative of the relevant company must be present here. Because of this, Telegram was temporarily blocked in 2022, and WhatsApp was briefly banned in 2016 after it refused to comply with a court order to hand over user data. Musk acquired the social network X (then Twitter) in 2022 and began to change the policy of the resource. He promised to remove content only in accordance with the laws of countries where the platform is officially represented. But at the same time, he challenged the removal orders issued by the authorities in Australia and Brazil.