Brazil Prohibits X
Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Court of Brazil has mandated the blocking of X within the country and imposed significant fines on VPN users. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Brazilians utilizing a VPN to access the app face potential fines of $8,874 per day, according to the Supreme Court.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil’s Supreme Court has commanded the “immediate suspension” of operations for X (previously known as Twitter) and has threatened severe penalties against those attempting to bypass the ban.
De Moraes has insisted that X censor accounts that he alleges are disseminating disinformation by criticizing his actions; however, Elon Musk, the platform’s owner, rejected the demand.
On Friday, the judge imposed a ban on the platform in Brazil, instructing Google and Apple to remove X from their app stores within five days. He further warned that individuals using a virtual private network (VPN) to circumvent the ban could incur fines of around 50,000 Brazilian real (about $8,874) daily.
“Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes,” Musk stated in response to the ruling.
He also referred to de Moraes as “an evil dictator cosplaying as a judge” and characterized President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva as his “lapdog.”
On Thursday, de Moraes froze the accounts of Starlink, a subsidiary of Musk’s SpaceX, claiming the action was necessary to secure the payment of fines imposed on X due to its failure to appoint a legal representative. Musk condemned the move as an “absolutely illegal action” executed without due process, emphasizing that X and SpaceX operate as entirely separate entities with different shareholders.
X’s Global Government Affairs team reported that de Moraes “threatened our Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment. Even after she resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts.”
“Our challenges against his manifestly illegal actions were either dismissed or ignored,” the company asserted, vowing to publicly disclose all related court filings to ensure transparency. “Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders.”
The US embassy in Brazil expressed that it is “monitoring the situation” and underscored that “freedom of expression is a fundamental pillar in a healthy democracy.”
The conflict began earlier this year when de Moraes mandated X to suspend accounts belonging to supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro, labeling them “digital militants” responsible for spreading “disinformation” about him and the judicial system. Musk objected, suggesting that the order contravened Brazilian law.
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
Justice Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil’s Supreme Court has commanded the “immediate suspension” of operations for X (previously known as Twitter) and has threatened severe penalties against those attempting to bypass the ban.
De Moraes has insisted that X censor accounts that he alleges are disseminating disinformation by criticizing his actions; however, Elon Musk, the platform’s owner, rejected the demand.
On Friday, the judge imposed a ban on the platform in Brazil, instructing Google and Apple to remove X from their app stores within five days. He further warned that individuals using a virtual private network (VPN) to circumvent the ban could incur fines of around 50,000 Brazilian real (about $8,874) daily.
“Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes,” Musk stated in response to the ruling.
He also referred to de Moraes as “an evil dictator cosplaying as a judge” and characterized President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva as his “lapdog.”
On Thursday, de Moraes froze the accounts of Starlink, a subsidiary of Musk’s SpaceX, claiming the action was necessary to secure the payment of fines imposed on X due to its failure to appoint a legal representative. Musk condemned the move as an “absolutely illegal action” executed without due process, emphasizing that X and SpaceX operate as entirely separate entities with different shareholders.
X’s Global Government Affairs team reported that de Moraes “threatened our Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment. Even after she resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts.”
“Our challenges against his manifestly illegal actions were either dismissed or ignored,” the company asserted, vowing to publicly disclose all related court filings to ensure transparency. “Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders.”
The US embassy in Brazil expressed that it is “monitoring the situation” and underscored that “freedom of expression is a fundamental pillar in a healthy democracy.”
The conflict began earlier this year when de Moraes mandated X to suspend accounts belonging to supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro, labeling them “digital militants” responsible for spreading “disinformation” about him and the judicial system. Musk objected, suggesting that the order contravened Brazilian law.
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
