It's not a bad dream for Elon Musk, but the reality: the Brazilian Supreme Court ordered the social network block X (formerly Twitter) because the platform has not yet appointed a legal representative in the country. The decision came with an official tweet, signed by the minister Alexandre de Moraes of the Federal Supreme Court, which gave the billionaire a 24 hour ultimatum to resolve the situation, under penalty of total blackout of the platform in Brazil. The ball is now in the court of the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), which has another 24 hours to let all operators know that X is going offline.
Total X Blockade in Brazil: Here's What Happened
This dispute did not arise out of nowhere: it all started in April, when Moraes ordered the blocking of about a hundred accounts linked to the far-right former president. Jair Bolsonaro, accused of spread fake news and inciting hatred. This order was part of an investigation into fake news and hate speech spread on the platform during Bolsonaro's term and the storming of parliament in January 2023. Musk responded by accusing Moraes of betraying the Constitution and the Brazilian people, vowing to fight the blockades in every legal venue. In response, Moraes opened an investigation into Musk for "obstruction of justice" and imposed a fine of around 18 thousand euros per day for each account remaining active. In August, Musk has closed X's Brazilian headquarters, adding further fuel to the fire.
Moraes is a controversial figure in Brazil, known for his intransigence in the defense of democracy during the Bolsonaro presidency. Appreciated by some for his firmness against those who have attacked the institutions, he is also criticized for his aggressive methods. It is not the first time that he has acted against the social networks: in 2022 has temporarily bloccato Telegram for similar reasons.
Lula vs. Musk: “Who does he think he is?”
The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, wasted no time in speaking his mind, and he did so with a good dose of frankness: “Elon Musk must understand that in Brazil the rules are respected, period. It’s not that if you’re a billionaire you can do whatever you want. I also respect the laws, so he should too.” And he didn’t stop there. “Just because he has a bigger bank account than me, he can’t think of ignoring the Supreme Court and going around the world insulting presidents and parliaments. Who does he think he is?” added Lula, concluding with a laconic: “If Musk wants to be good, fine. If not, never mind.”
X and Musk's reply
X, of course, did not remain silent and responded with a communique posted on the same social network minutes after the ultimatum expired. In the statement, X says he got into trouble because he didn’t obey de Moraes’ “illegal orders” to censor political opponents, including a senator and even a 16-year-old girl. According to X, de Moraes has dismissed all objections, and his Supreme Court colleagues “either can’t or won’t deal with him.”
“Freedom of speech is the foundation of democracy, but in Brazil a pseudo unelected judge is destroying it for political reasons”: the owner of the social network wrote on his X account, Elon Musk, adding that “the regime in Brazil has just ordered the suspension of X within 24 hours, imposed on stores to comply within 5 days and fined them for using VPNs. “Everyone needs to wake up,” he added. “Yes, this could happen here too,” referring to the US.
Previous X Blockades in Nigeria and India
Brazil isn't the only country to have pulled the plug on X: the social network has already suffered blocks in the past, such as in Nigeria in 2021, when it was censored after removing posts by then President Muhammadu Buhari for inciting violence, and in India in 2022 for failing to comply with legal injunctions. But Brazil, with 217 million inhabitants and about 24 million active profiles on X, is one of the largest markets for the social network outside the United States. Who will have the final say, the Brazilian Supreme Court or the social network mogul?