X braces for shutdown in Brazil
SOCIAL media giant X said yesterday it expected Brazil’s top court to order it to shut down, as a pitched legal battle plays out over compliance with local laws and owner Elon Musk’s insistence the platform was being punished for resisting censorship.
X said it expected Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes to order the shutdown ‘‘soon’’ after a courtimposed deadline for the company to identify a legal representative in Brazil passed yesterday.
As of last night, X was still working normally in the country. Earlier yesterday, the Supreme Court blocked the local bank accounts of billionaire Musk’s Starlink satellite internet firm, while the underlying feud over X put it on the brink of being shuttered in one of its top markets.
Musk lashed out at Moraes on
X yesterday, labelling the judge an ‘‘evil dictator’’ in a newly pinned post.
He also decried the ruling to block Starlink as illegal, and claimed the action ‘‘improperly’’ punishes other shareholders as well as ordinary Brazilians.
Musk also announced Starlinkparent SpaceX would provide free internet service to Brazilian users ‘‘until this matter is resolved’’.
Signed by Moraes, the court’s decision to sanction Starlink is a response to the lack of legal representatives in Brazil for X, a Supreme Court source said.
The decision to freeze Starlink’s bank accounts also stems from a separate dispute over unpaid fines that X was ordered to pay due to its failure to turn over some documents. Local newspaper Folha has reported the fines total at least 20 million reais ($NZ5.6m), but Reuters was not able to confirm the amount.
The Supreme Court had set a deadline for X to name its legal representative in Brazil by yesterday — the law requires all internet companies to have a legal representative in Brazil who can receive judicial orders and be legally responsible for the business. — Reuters