Brazil's Highest Court Upholds Suspension of 'X'
On Monday, Brazil's Supreme Court confirmed a ruling made by one of its judges to suspend Elon Musk's X social network due to purported judicial violations.
TroibNews 
Brazil's Supreme Court confirmed on Monday the ruling by one of its judges to suspend access to Elon Musk's X social network over alleged judicial violations.
The platform has been inaccessible in the country since Saturday morning, shortly after Judge Alexandre de Moraes issued his suspension order.
The judge's decision followed Musk's noncompliance with a directive to appoint a new legal representative for the company in Brazil, which X has labeled "illegal."
Moraes and Musk have been engaged in a high-profile conflict for several months, with the judge committed to combating disinformation and Musk advocating for the primacy of free speech.
On Monday, five Supreme Court justices, including Moraes, voted in a virtual meeting to maintain his ruling.
"Elon Musk demonstrated his total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty and, in particular, the judiciary, positioning himself as a true supranational entity immune to the laws of countries," Moraes stated in the updated ruling.
His colleague Flavio Dino remarked that "freedom of expression does not excuse repeated violations of the legal system."
Musk, who also leads Tesla and SpaceX, expressed outrage at Friday's order, calling Moraes an "evil dictator cosplaying as a judge" and accusing him of "trying to destroy democracy in Brazil."
The conflict originated when Moraes prohibited the suspension of several X accounts associated with supporters of Brazil's former far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro.
In April, the judge initiated an investigation into Musk, alleging that he had reinstated some of the banned accounts.
Musk is also under separate scrutiny for allegedly using public funds to facilitate disinformation campaigns supporting Bolsonaro and his associates.
In August, X declared it was closing its offices in Brazil due to actions taken by Moraes, but assured clients they would continue to have access to its services.
As of Friday, X had approximately 22 million users in Brazil, according to DataReportal.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
The platform has been inaccessible in the country since Saturday morning, shortly after Judge Alexandre de Moraes issued his suspension order.
The judge's decision followed Musk's noncompliance with a directive to appoint a new legal representative for the company in Brazil, which X has labeled "illegal."
Moraes and Musk have been engaged in a high-profile conflict for several months, with the judge committed to combating disinformation and Musk advocating for the primacy of free speech.
On Monday, five Supreme Court justices, including Moraes, voted in a virtual meeting to maintain his ruling.
"Elon Musk demonstrated his total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty and, in particular, the judiciary, positioning himself as a true supranational entity immune to the laws of countries," Moraes stated in the updated ruling.
His colleague Flavio Dino remarked that "freedom of expression does not excuse repeated violations of the legal system."
Musk, who also leads Tesla and SpaceX, expressed outrage at Friday's order, calling Moraes an "evil dictator cosplaying as a judge" and accusing him of "trying to destroy democracy in Brazil."
The conflict originated when Moraes prohibited the suspension of several X accounts associated with supporters of Brazil's former far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro.
In April, the judge initiated an investigation into Musk, alleging that he had reinstated some of the banned accounts.
Musk is also under separate scrutiny for allegedly using public funds to facilitate disinformation campaigns supporting Bolsonaro and his associates.
In August, X declared it was closing its offices in Brazil due to actions taken by Moraes, but assured clients they would continue to have access to its services.
As of Friday, X had approximately 22 million users in Brazil, according to DataReportal.
Sanya Singh contributed to this report for TROIB News
