BRASÍLIA, Brazil: A Brazilian Supreme Court judge, Alexandre de Moraes, has threatened to suspend operations of X, formerly known as Twitter, if CEO Elon Musk does not appoint a new legal representative for the platform in Brazil within 24 hours.
This follows Musk’s decision earlier this month to shut down X’s business operations in the country while keeping the platform accessible to users. Musk made this move after accusing de Moraes of pressuring the company’s previous legal representative.
Judge de Moraes, who has been actively fighting disinformation in Brazil, ordered the appointment of a new legal representative and stated that failure to comply could lead to a suspension of X’s services in the country. Musk criticized the judge’s actions as a crackdown on free speech, defending his decision to close X’s Brazilian offices by saying complying with the judge’s demands would have been embarrassing.
De Moraes has previously ordered the suspension of several accounts on X, including those linked to supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro, for allegedly spreading disinformation about Brazil’s 2022 presidential election. Musk is also currently under investigation for allegedly using public funds to support disinformation campaigns in favor of Bolsonaro and his allies.
