The Supreme Court judge of Brazil Alexandre de Moraes has ordered this Friday the suspension of social network X in retaliation for not appointing a legal representative in the South American giant, in a new escalation of the fight with the business conglomerate of Elon Musk.
De Moraes has already notified the decision to the National Telecommunications Agency, which You now have 24 hours to apply it.In addition, Apple and Google’s online stores must remove the X app within a maximum of five days.
The judge decrees daily fines of up to 50,000 reais (about 8,000 euros) against people or companies that use alternative measures to circumvent the ban and access X, the social network formerly called Twitter and now owned by tycoon Elon Musk, reports the news portal G1.
The company, which is facing fines of 18 million reais (about 2.9 million euros) in Brazil, for not deleting contenthad already assumed that it was a matter of hours before De Moraes ordered the closure. In a statement, he warned that “he will not comply with illegal orders to censor political opponents.”
Musk, who had accused President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in recent hours of being the Supreme Court judge’s “lapdog,” has charged against De Moraes again after the blockade was confirmed. “Freedom of expression is the cornerstone of democracy and a pseudo-judge who has not been elected in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes,” he said.
The American tycoon has also directly criticized the threat of fine against those who try to access X: “Brazil’s repressive regime is so afraid of people knowing the truth that it will ruin those who try.”
