Brazil: Supreme Court upholds ban on X
Members of Brazil’s Supreme Court have voted unanimously to uphold a ban on X in the country.
The temporary ban had been imposed on Friday after the social media giant refused to comply with local laws.
Five justices were asked yesterday to consider the decision. Judge Flávio Dino said the company’s decision to “deliberately” ignore a court order to name a legal representative in Brazil suggested that it thought it was “above the rule of law”.
“Economic power and the size of one’s bank account do not produce some strange immunity from jurisdiction,” he stated.
Judge Cristiano Zanin stated: “The repeated non-compliance with Supreme Court decisions is extremely serious for any citizen or legal entity, be they public or private. No one can seek to perform their activities in Brazil without complying with the laws and the federal constitution.”
The use of technology to access X, such as virtual private networks, is now punishable in Brazil, and will incur a fine of 50,000 reais (£6,760) a day.
X owner Elon Musk has attacked the court and the Brazilian government since the ruling, which he denounced as part of a woke authoritarian crusade to silence opposing voices and to curb free speech.
His satellite internet subsidiary, Starlink, reportedly told Brazil’s telecommunications regulator, Anatel, yesterday that it would ignore the court order to block X.
He also called Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who ordered the ban, “Brazil’s Voldemort”.
“He can block this platform in Brazil, but he can’t stop the whole world from knowing his illegal, shameful & hypocritical deeds,” Mr Musk tweeted on Saturday.