On Wednesday evening, Alexandre de Moraes gave the platform 24 hours to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, or face suspension from the network.
Published
Updated
Reading time: 1 min
![Billionaire Elon Musk, head of X (left), and Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, on April 13 and June 18, 2024, respectively. (ETIENNE LAURENT EVARISTO SA / AFP)](https://www.francetvinfo.fr/pictures/BzF78QEbmNXnAFvQIx2QDYaGeW4/0x23:1024x598/432x243/2024/08/30/000-36ey86r-66d22db7b3ac6431570843.jpg)
Alexandre de Moraes, judge of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) of Brazil, ordered Friday, August 30 “the immediate and complete suspension of X’s activities” throughout the country, “until the court’s judicial decisions are complied with and the fines imposed are paid.” “The order will also apply until a company representative is appointed in the country,” adds the Brazilian Supreme Court in a statement.
The magistrate ordered the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to“adopt all necessary measures” for the measure to come into effect within 24 hours. He also asked tech giants Google and Apple, as well as internet service providers, to“introduce technological barriers capable of preventing the use of application X” and access to the website.
On Wednesday evening, Alexandre de Moraes had given 24 hours to the platform of the American billionaire Elon Musk to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, under penalty of suspension of the network. At the end of the deadline, X had made it known that it would not comply with the court injunction. On August 17, Elon Musk had already announced the closure of X’s offices in Brazil, citing the actions of Judge Moraes.
The magistrate opened an investigation into Elon Musk in April, accusing him of reactivating accounts suspended by order of the Brazilian courts. X had admitted that users had managed to circumvent the restrictions.
Judge Alexandre Moraes has ordered in recent years the blocking of accounts of influential figures in Brazil’s ultraconservative movements for disseminating “fake news”. The magistrate “is an evil dictator who pretends to be a judge”Elon Musk lambasted on Thursday.