Brasilia, 29 August 2024 (TDI): Brazilian Supreme Court judge threatened Wednesday to suspend X if CEO Elon Musk doesn’t appoint a new legal representative for the social media site’s operations in the country.
Earlier this month Musk shut down X’s business operations in the country while preserving access to the social media site for users after accusing the judge of threatening the platform’s previous legal representative.
In a ruling made public Wednesday, judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered Musk “to appoint the new legal representative in Brazil within twenty-four hours.”
In the event of non-compliance with the order, the ruling provides for the suspension of the social network’s activities in the country.
Moraes has spearheaded the battle against disinformation in South America’s largest country, clashing with Elon Musk along the way.
Musk and other critics have said Moraes is part of a major crackdown on free speech.
Justifying the shutdown of the offices, Musk said that had X complied with the court orders.
Moraes previously had ordered the suspension of several X accounts suspected of spreading disinformation, including those of supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who tried to discredit the voting system in the 2022 presidential election, which he lost.
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In April, X admitted that several users of blocked accounts had successfully circumvent the restrictions.
Musk is also the subject of a judicial probe into an alleged scheme where public money was used to orchestrate disinformation drives in favor of Bolsonaro and those close to him.
