Brazil‘s Supreme Court Imposes Nationwide Ban on X

• On Friday, Brazil's Supreme Court imposed a nationwide ban on X. It also ordered daily fines on people and businesses that try to access X through a VPN during this period.
• The ban comes just a few days after Justice Alexandre de Moraes gave X a 24-hour deadline to either appoint a legal representative for itself in the country or risk getting banned.
• Unless X follows the court directives, this ban will stay in place. And from what Musk has said so far, that's probably not going to happen.

On Friday, Brazil's Supreme Court imposed a nationwide ban on Musk's social media company X after the company failed to meet court orders.

• Justice Alexandre de Moraes also froze Starlink's bank accounts (the satellite internet service provided by Musk) to ensure the fines imposed on X were paid.
• In addition to that, the court also ordered daily fines for people and businesses that use X through VPNs, which are banned in the country.

Just a couple of days ago, Justice Moraes had given X a 24-hour deadline to either appoint a legal representative in the country or risk getting banned.

And since X could not meet the deadline, a ban is now being imposed and will remain in place until a legal representative is appointed for the company.

The initial 51-page order was followed by a second notice that did away with some of the points mentioned in the first.

For example, in the first order companies like Google and Apple were given 5 days to remove X from its app stores and to also remove VPN apps that offer access to X. However, in the second notice, the deadline was removed. This gives X some time to comply with the court orders until further notice.

The Main Issue between Musk & Moraes

The problem between Musk and Moraes goes back a few months when the latter asked Musk to ban about 100 X accounts that he believed were spreading misinformation and hate speech. These accounts belonged to the supporters of Brazil's ex-president Bolsonaro.

However, Musk being a staunch supporter of free speech (and considering his good ties with Bolsonaro) refused to comply. He even called Moraes a dictator and accused him of breaking the law by making such a demand.

Ever since then, there's been a back-and-forth of attacks; the ban being the latest blow.

While some have criticized Moraes's decision and accused him of taking it too far, this isn't the first time Moraes has taken a step like this. He has a history of banning social media sites (like WhatsApp and Telegram) until they comply with court orders.

What Does X Have to Say About This?

It is yet to address the ban but late on Thursday, X's global government affairs unit said in a statement that it was anticipating the ban because the company will not follow the orders - not within this 24-hour deadline and not in the near future.

The statement also said that X will soon publish a list of all the illegal demands made by Moraes along with all related court filings.

Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders.' - X Statement

It has also shut down its facilities in the country to protect its employees from possible arrest over non-compliance. While such perseverance is certainly commendable, in reality, losing its Brazilian market will be a huge financial blow for the company.

Many of its advertisers have withdrawn their campaigns after their ads were being run alongside harmful posts (such as racist content). And since advertisements were X's biggest source of revenue, the company is struggling.

The situation seems like a stalemate and an ego war as of now. Neither Musk nor Moraes are in a mood to budge from their positions.

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