Brazil judge bans Elon Musk's X for refusing to name legal representative

A Brazilian judge has ordered the suspension of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, for failing to comply with the directive to appoint a local representative.

As per the order issued on Friday, August 30, internet service providers and app stores in Brazil have been asked to revoke access to X within five days.

The order, issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, also mandates a fine of $8,900 on individuals found using virtual private networks (VPNs) to use X, reports said.

X, led by billionaire Elon Musk, was operating without a local representative in Brazil since early August. The company had been warned to appoint a representative at the earliest to avoid facing action.

Brazil remains a crucial market for X, which has been reportedly been struggling to gain advertisers since 2022. According to market research group Emarketer, around one-fifth of Brazilians, or roughly 40 million citizens of the country, use X at least once in a month.

X refuses to comply

On its 'Global Government Affairs' page on X, the company wrote on Thursday -- a day before it was banned in Brazil -- that it would not comply with the orders issued by the Brazilian judge.

"Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders," it said.

"When we attempted to defend ourselves in court, Judge de Moraes threatened our Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment. Even after she resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts. Our challenges against his manifestly illegal actions were either dismissed or ignored. Judge de Moraes’ colleagues on the Supreme Court are either unwilling or unable to stand up to him," the company wrote.

X further claimed that it is not insisting that other countries have the same free speech laws as the United States. "The fundamental issue at stake here is that Judge de Moraes demands we break Brazil’s own laws. We simply won’t do that," it added.