On Monday morning (September 2), the 1st Panel of the Supreme Federal Court voted to maintain the suspension of the social network X, formerly known as Twitter.
To avoid further confrontations, Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider, agreed to block the social network in Brazil.
Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) ordered the suspension of the social network on Friday (August 31). The measure remains in effect until X pays the fines and appoints a representative in Brazil, a requirement of the country’s Civil Code. The minister also imposed a fine of R$ 50,000 on anyone using a VPN to access the social network.
Moraes’ request aims to ensure that X complies with Brazilian laws and that the company pays the fines imposed by the courts. The Civil Code prohibits foreign companies from operating in Brazil without a legal representative in the country.
X has received fines from Brazilian courts for failing to comply with Moraes’ orders to block profiles that attacked democratic institutions.
On Thursday (August 29), Moraes also blocked all Brazilian accounts of Starlink. The aim of the decision is to ensure sufficient resources to pay fines imposed on X in legal actions.
Reactions
In Brazil, the ban on X has divided people along political lines. Right-wing individuals have called Moraes an “autocrat” who is jeopardizing the country’s freedoms, while leftist figures, including President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, have supported the ban as an important way to reaffirm Brazil’s sovereignty. He stated that the world is not obliged to tolerate the extreme-right “anything goes” agenda of billionaire Elon Musk because of his immense wealth.
“The Brazilian justice system may have sent an important signal that the world is not obliged to tolerate Musk’s extreme right, which says anything goes, just because he is rich,” said the president.
Source: Agência Brasil and CNN