Justice Federal judge orders shutdown of X in Brazil
In the dispute over the appointment of a legal representative of the news platform X, a federal judge in Brazil has ordered the online service to be shut down. X owner Elon Musk accused the lawyer of censorship.
31.08.2024, 00:22
SDA
The National Telecommunications Authority should implement the shutdown of X in the South American country within 24 hours, ordered Judge Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Federal Court. In addition, companies such as Google and Apple must remove the X app from their online stores within the next five days.
Moraes made the decision after the news platform failed to comply with his request to appoint a legal representative in Brazil. X had closed its office in the middle of the month on the grounds that it feared the arrest of its representative at the time.
Previously, the Supreme Court had demanded that X block the accounts of right-wing activists who spread conspiracy narratives and false information. The news platform did not comply with the request and did not pay the fine imposed.
Hate speech goes viral
In recent days, X owner Elon Musk had repeatedly railed against federal judge Moraes and accused him of censorship. "Alexandre de Moraes is an evil dictator masquerading as a judge," he wrote on X.
Musk sees himself as a defender of free speech. However, his network has recently been used in Brazil to mobilize for anti-democratic actions. So-called digital militias associated with right-wing ex-president Jair Bolsonaro spread fake news and hate speech on social networks.
