Brazil’s Supreme Court has given Elon Musk, the owner of the social network X, 24 hours to appoint a legal representative for the platform in the country or face blocking the platform in the country of 200 million people. Last week, Mr. Musk closed X’s office in Brazil in protest at a Supreme Court judge’s order to block certain accounts on the platform. If the platform refuses to comply now, the social network risks losing access to one of its largest markets outside the United States — a critical issue for the company, which is struggling with a mass exodus of advertisers. The court issued its order last night, with Musk expected to have until 8 p.m. local time on Thursday.
Musk’s Free Speech Stance and Legal Standoff
The incident is a test of Musk’s convictions. He shapes X’s policies according to his own views on free speech, and his response will show how far he’s willing to go to protect the platform from what he sees as censorship. Musk has been locked in a months-long standoff with Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, whom he has accused of trying to censor conservative political voices online.
Judge Moraes has ordered the suspension of more than a hundred accounts on X, citing efforts to combat disinformation, hate speech, and attacks on democracy. Most of the accounts are from supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro who object to his defeat in the 2022 election. Musk has been vocal in his support of Bolsonaro, helping launch Brazil’s Starlink satellite provider, notes NIX Solutions.
Legal Requirements and Precedents
Moraes has repeatedly pointed out the requirement under Brazilian law that foreign online services must have a legal representative present in the country for them to operate. This led to Telegram being temporarily blocked in 2022, and WhatsApp being briefly banned in 2016 after refusing to comply with a court order to hand over user data. Musk acquired X (then Twitter) in 2022 and began changing the platform’s policies. He promised to remove content only in accordance with the laws of countries where the platform is officially represented. But he has also challenged content removal orders issued by authorities in Australia and Brazil.
We’ll keep you updated on this developing situation as more information becomes available.