Sept. 2 (UPI) — Brazil’s Supreme Court on Monday unanimously upheld a nationwide ban of the social media platform X.
The five-justice panel approved the decision. The court consists of 11 justices appointed by the president.
Elon Musk attends the 10th annual Breakthrough Prize ceremony at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 13, 2024. The ceremony honors acclaimed science and mathematical luminaries. The Breakthrough Prize celebrates the research achievements of the world’s top scientists, awarding more than $15 million in prizes annually. Each Breakthrough Prize is $3 million and presented in the fields of Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics, and Mathematics. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, has been suspended in Brazil since Saturday after the platform failed to appoint a new legal representative in the country before a court-imposed deadline.
There were an estimated 40 million X users in Brazil with a population of about 215 million. Worldwide there are more 550 million monthly active users.
Chief Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension Friday.
On Wednesday, he had given companies, including Apple and Google, a five-day deadline to remove X from its app stores and block its use on iOS and Android devices. Individuals or businesses found to still be accessing X by using virtual private networks, or VPNs, could be fined $8,910.
Justice Flávio Dino said that “freedom of expression is closely linked to a duty of responsibility. The first can’t exist without the second, and vice-versa.”
Musk, who also owns SpaceX and Tesla, expressed outrage at the decision on his platform: “Unless the Brazilian government returns the illegally seized property of X and SpaceX, we will seek reciprocal seizure of government assets too. Hope Lula enjoys flying commercial.”
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected president of Brazil in 2023.
The Brazilian Supreme Court also froze the bank accounts of Musk’s space satellite service Starlink in the country.
Before the ruling, Musk posted on X: “Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes.”
Musk warned the same situation could occur in the United States.
“People think Brazil-style censorship couldn’t happen here, but it could,” Musk, who has endorsed Republican nominee Donald Trump for president, posted Monday. “Indeed, Kamala Harris, Tim Walz and Barack Obama have all called for heavy-handed government censorship like that of Brazil and Europe, complete with banning disfavored individuals across platforms.”
X closed its office in Brazil last month.
In April, de Moraes ordered the suspension of dozens of accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation. Supporters of the former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro had spread disinformation.
An alternative microblogging platform is Bluesky.
On Saturday, Bluesky announced that it had registered half a million new users in Brazil over two days.
“Good job, Brazil, you made the right choice,” Bluesky CEO Jay Graber said.