Brazil Starts Blocking X As Elon Musk Slams Judge

Anyone trying to access X in Brazil was blocked over the weekend after the country enforced a court-ordered suspension of Elon Musk’s social media site, Julia Vargas Jones, Stefano Pozzebon, and Chris Lau reported for CNN.

The SC previously issued orders to block multiple X accounts as part of Brazil’s sweeping investigation into the spread of misinformation online and hate speech aimed at undermining the country’s democracy.

Over the past 24 hours, Brazilians, including President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, have been bidding farewell to X, with some posting links to their profiles on other social media platforms.

Attempts to access the site on a web browser or through the app on Saturday were met with an error message.

The blockage comes after Brazil’s Supreme Court (SC) on Friday ordered the suspension of X nationwide because Musk refused to name a legal representative in the country. Brazilian law requires companies operating in the jurisdiction to have legal representation.

But X, formerly known as Twitter, shut down its Brazilian representative office on August 17 after Justice Alexandre de Moraes threatened to prosecute its local representatives over their reluctance to comply with orders to block users.

This further escalates a months-long feud over free speech, far-right accounts, and misinformation.

The SC previously issued orders to block multiple X accounts as part of Brazil’s sweeping investigation into the spread of misinformation online and hate speech aimed at undermining the country’s democracy.