X gets banned in Brazil amid disinformation feud

Elon Musk's social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, is having problems. A judge on Brazil's Supreme Court has barred X from the nation in the midst of a disinformation campaign. Justice Alexandre De Moraes of the Supreme Court of Brazil banned X on Friday. Musk was placed under "immediate suspension" on the social media site for neglecting to appoint a new attorney in Brazil.

Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Moraes banned X because the social media site disregarded regional content control regulations. The prohibition is a component of the current legal battle over content moderation and censorship on X with the nation's court. Notably, Musk disobeyed the Brazilian judge's order for X to choose a new legal representation in the nation.

Within a day, Moraes gave the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) an order to suspend X. In addition, he told Google and Apple, two of the biggest tech companies, five days to take down the X app from their app stores. In addition, anyone attempting to access X through VPN services will be subject to daily fines from the authorities. Those who attempt to gain access to X, including individuals and businesses, risk daily fines of up to 50,000 reais ($8,900).

X operations in Brazil are suspended until all court orders are complied with

X's activities in Brazil have been halted by the judge there until all relevant court orders are fulfilled. In addition, fines of about 18.5 million reais (about $3.28 million) must be paid. It is also requested of the corporation to designate a legal representative in Brazil.

Notably, earlier this month, Elon Musk closed X's Brazilian operations. The wealthy internet investor said that Judge Moraes had threatened to have the representative of the social networking site arrested for defying "censorship orders." Following the ruling, Musk released a statement on X stating, "Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes."

It’s worth mentioning that the Brazilian Supreme Court also froze Musk’s satellite internet provider Starlink’s financial accounts in Brazil. Starlink argues that the freeze is based on an unfounded determination that it should be accountable for the fines imposed on X.