Brazil’s Supreme Court Orders Suspension of Elon Musk’s X

On August 30, 2024, Justice Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal or STF) ordered the immediate and complete suspension of X, formerly Twitter, throughout the country.

Earlier, on August 29, Moraes had instructed Elon Musk to appoint a legal representative for X in Brazil within 24 hours, warning that failure to do so would result in a nationwide suspension. The STF announced, “STF summons Elon Musk and X to appoint a legal representative within 24 hours, under penalty of suspension of activities in Brazil.”

The STF had warned that non-compliance would lead to the suspension of the social network’s operations in Brazil.

“In case of non-compliance with the determination, the decision provides for the suspension of the social network’s activities in Brazil.” the judge stated.

The suspension will remain in effect until the court’s judicial decisions are complied with and the fines are paid. The order will also be valid until the company appoints a representative in the country, according to the court’s decision.

The decision, made in Petition (PET) 12404, requires Carlos Manuel Baigorri, the president of the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), to take all necessary measures to enforce the suspension. Additionally, the rapporteur ordered Apple and Google to block the application from iOS and Android systems and to remove it from their app stores.

As per Moraes, the STF made every effort and provided ample opportunity for X Brasil to comply with court orders and settle fines to avoid this severe measure. “Unfortunately, the illicit conduct was repeated in the current investigation, demonstrating X Brasil’s failure to comply with multiple court orders and its intentional evasion of responsibility, including the disappearance of its legal representatives in Brazil,” Moraes stated.

The decision also imposes a daily fine of BRL 50,000 on individuals and companies that use “technological subterfuges” to continue using X, in addition to other sanctions in the civil and criminal spheres.

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