Elon Musk’s X complies with Brazilian Supreme Court amid legal battle
Elon Musk’s social media platform X will give a Brazilian legal spokesperson to the local Supreme Court “very soon,” the company’s attorneys said on Thursday, as the firm fought a ruling that aimed to close its operation in the nation.
Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) is set to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, a key step towards complying with the country’s Supreme Court orders.
The announcement came from X’s lawyers, André Zonaro and Sérgio Rosenthal, during an ongoing legal dispute that has threatened the platform’s operations in Brazil.
Supreme Court Ruling and X’s Response
In late August, Brazil’s Supreme Court, led by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, ordered a suspension of X due to concerns over the spread of hate speech on the platform.
As a result, mobile and internet service providers in Brazil were instructed to block access to the social media platform, leaving users cut off within hours.
However, in a surprising turn of events on Wednesday, X became accessible again to many Brazilian users. The company explained this as an “inadvertent and temporary service restoration” caused by a switch in network providers.
The court reacted swiftly, threatening X with a daily fine of 5 million reais ($921,726) if it circumvented the block. Justice Moraes accused Musk of deliberately attempting to bypass the judiciary, calling it a strategic move to defy court orders.
Efforts to Comply and Resolve Dispute
X’s legal team confirmed that a Brazilian legal representative will be named shortly and stated that the service interruption was due to a technical flaw, not intentional defiance.
The platform reiterated its intention to collaborate with the Brazilian government to reinstate its services properly.
Ongoing Legal Challenges
The platform has faced previous restrictions for allegedly enabling misinformation and hate speech, issues Musk has criticized as censorship. This case adds to the broader conflict between Musk’s free speech advocacy and regulatory frameworks in various countries.