Notebookcheck Logo

Brazilian Supreme Court orders service providers and app stores to block X (Twitter) within five days after company fails to name legal representative

Brazilian Supreme Court orders service providers and app stores to block X (Twitter) within five days after company fails to name legal representative. (Image source: AI-generated, Dall-E 3)
Brazilian Supreme Court orders service providers and app stores to block X (Twitter) within five days after company fails to name legal representative. (Image source: AI-generated, Dall-E 3)
Brazilian Supreme Court has ordered service providers and app stores to block X (Twitter) within five days after the company failed to name legal representative, a requirement for foreign companies operating within Brazil. The move is another chapter in the continuing row between Justice Alexandre de Moraes and Elon Musk, who is accused of helping spread fake news and threats against the justices.

X (formerly Twitter) is now effectively banned in Brazil after a row that started in April between Justice Alexandre de Moraes and Elon Musk reached its inevitable conclusion this Friday. Musk has inflamed this feud with tweets like “Alexandre de Moraes is an evil dictator cosplaying as a judge" and "This guy @Alexandre is an outright criminal of the worst kind, masquerading as a judge."

As a social media platform, X allows users to post short messages that are seen worldwide. Some countries ask Twitter to ban certain topics due to laws or censorship. China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela have completely banned X for its refusal to cooperate with the dictates. Of note, Musk is particularly outspoken as the owner of X and challenges such censorship.

In recent years, more than one hundred right-wing supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have been ordered censored by left-wing Justice Moraes. After Musk stepped in with comments supporting the right, Justice Moraes began clamping down. He threatened Musk by opening an investigation accusing Musk of spreading disinformation and by freezing the Brazilian financial accounts of Starlink.

The previous X representative in Brazil resigned to avoid imprisonment, and X has been operating without a legal representative in Brazil. Justice Moraes used this violation of the law that requires foreign companies to have a legal representative to effectively ban X. Moraes further noted that Musk through X, "clearly intends to continue to encourage posts with extremism, hate speech and anti-democratic discourse, and to try to withdraw them from jurisdictional control.”

App stores, internet providers, and other companies involved in access to X must block such access within five days. The country's telecommunications company must block X within 24 hours.

Source(s)

Read all 6 comments / answer
static version load dynamic
Loading Comments
Comment on this article
Please share our article, every link counts!
Mail Logo
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2024 08 > Brazilian Supreme Court orders service providers and app stores to block X (Twitter) within five days after company fails to name legal representative
David Chien, 2024-08-31 (Update: 2024-08-31)