Brazil orders suspension of Elon Musk’s X after freezing Starlink bank accounts

Day after blocking Starlink bank accounts in Brazil, a top Supreme Court judge has ordered the suspension of Elon Musk's social media giant X in the country for refusing to name a legal representative. The move will further escalate the feud between the two who have sparred over free speech, far-right accounts on X and “misinformation” spreading through X.

In its order, the judge said that X will remain blocked until all orders were complied with – this includes payment of more than $3 million in fines and naming a legal representative.

The judge also said anyone using VPN to access X, formerly Twitter, would be subject to daily fines of 50,000 reais ($8,900 or ₹7,46,621).

On Wednesday, August 28, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes had warned Elon Musk that X could be blocked if he fails to name a legal representative. The platform will stay blocked until Elon Musk complies with all orders.

The judge, Alexandre de Moraes, wrote that X has been contributing to “an environment of total impunity and lawlessness in Brazilian social networks, including during the 2024 local elections"….“Elon Musk showed his total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty and, in particular, for the judiciary, setting himself up as a true supranational entity and immune to the laws of each country.”

Before X was suspended in Brazil, the social media giant said it expects X to be suspended. “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. 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 company wrote.

X has clashed with de Moraes over its reluctance to comply with orders to block users.

Elon Musk lashed out at the Brazilian judge minutes after the ruling suspending X in the country was published. “Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes,” Elon Musk said in a post on X, adding, “The oppressive regime in Brazil is so afraid of the people learning the truth that they will bankrupt anyone who tries.”

On Friday, August 30, the feud has also led to the freezing of satellite internet provider Starlink's bank accounts in Brazil. Starlink is a unit of Musk-led rocket company SpaceX.

(With inputs from AP)