Elon Musk’s Platform X Blocked in Brazil, What’s Going On?

Todaysgist.com, Jakarta – The feud between Elon Musk and the Brazilian government is heating up again. This time, social media platform X (formerly Twitter) is the victim.

Quoting The VergeSunday (1/9/2024), a Brazilian Supreme Court judge, Alexandre de Moraes, ordered the blocking of X after Elon Musk failed to appoint legal representation in the country.

The decision comes after Musk closed X’s Brazilian office earlier this month, in response to de Moraes’ threats to arrest the company’s legal representatives.

de Moraes said the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to restrict access to social media X within 24 hours. “Apple and Google have five days to remove X from their respective app stores.”

In addition to being blocked, the country also imposes a daily fine of 50,000 Brazilian reals or around USD 8,911 on users who try to access X via a virtual private network (VPN), as reported by Poder360.

The blocking of X in Brazil raises serious questions about free speech in the digital age. Musk himself has slammed the decision, calling it an attempt to “destroy democracy for political purposes.”

Impact of Blocking

Blocking X in Brazil could potentially harm millions of users in the country. In addition, this decision could also have a negative impact on Brazil’s reputation as a democratic country that respects freedom of speech.

Elon Musk’s reaction

Musk has strongly condemned the decision to block X, calling it an “assault on democracy.” He also accused de Moraes of being an “unelected pseudo-judge” acting for political gain.

It’s unclear what happens next for X in Brazil. Musk could decide to comply with the court order and appoint new legal representation, or he could continue to fight and find another way to provide access to X Twitter for Brazilian users.