Supreme Brazilian Court suspends X after resistance from Elon Musk

Brazil's highest court has ordered the immediate suspension of X, formerly known as Twitter, after owner Elon Musk refused to designate a legal representative for the social network in the largest country in Latin America. This move marks the culmination of a months-long dispute between Musk and Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is cracking down on fake news and hate speech that harm Brazil's democracy. Musk closed X's office in Brazil earlier this month in protest against judicial orders to block certain accounts allegedly spreading misinformation. Subsequently, the court gave the company a 24-hour deadline. A spokesperson for X has not yet responded to requests for comment, and the platform was still available on Friday evening, as the implementation of the order takes some time. Globally, democracies are grappling with the impact of social media on their elections and politics. However, Brazil has taken some of the most aggressive measures following the 2022 presidential elections to hold companies accountable for their content. During the campaign, former President Jair Bolsonaro spread distrust in the electronic voting system with unfounded claims of hacking and election fraud, leading to unrest among his supporters. Moraes has implicated Musk in a comprehensive investigation of so-called digital militias and fined the company. The conflict further escalated when Musk announced that X would cease its operations in Brazil after Moraes threatened an arrest warrant against the platform's legal representative. Musk continued to criticize the judge, whom he accused of censorship. A December report found that 29% of smartphone users in Brazil had X installed. According to Sensor Tower, the platform had around 20 million active users in the country in the first quarter of 2024, representing a decrease of about 15% compared to the previous year. Other social media platforms have also faced legal challenges. Last year, Telegram was temporarily shut down, and WhatsApp was banned for a short period in 2016.