Key Takeaways
- Brazil’s highest court confirmed that Elon Musk’s X platform is suspended nationwide.
- The suspension was enforced after the company refused to comply with Brazilian court orders focused on concerns about the spread of political disinformation.
- Musk, the owner of X and chief executive officer (CEO) of Tesla and Space X, said the court’s decision threatens free speech.
- The Brazilian government also froze the finances of Starlink, a division of SpaceX that provides internet access through a satellite network, as it assesses whether the funds could be used to pay X’s fines.
- Musk says Starlink will continue to serve a quarter of a million customers in Brazil as the issue is being resolved.
Brazil’s highest court affirmed Monday that Elon Musk’s X platform (formerly Twitter) is suspended nationwide. Here’s what you need to know.
On Friday, Alexandre de Moraes, judge-minister of Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court (STF), ordered the immediate suspension of X in Brazil until the company complies with the court’s judicial decisions, pays related fines, and appoints a representative from X for the country.
As part of the suspension effort, the government ordered Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google to remove the X platform from their respective app stores and block its use on their operating systems.
Brazil Bans X, Citing Disinformation Concerns; Musk Says It Threatens Freedom of Speech
The STF said it “made every possible effort and granted every opportunity for X Brasil to comply with the court orders and pay the fines” to avoid suspension. The Brazilian government had opened an investigation into Elon Musk‘s conduct and X due to concerns about the spread of disinformation.
Per Brazilian court orders, the social media platform banned several accounts associated with spreading criminal disinformation. However, Musk later decided to reverse this action, reinstating some accounts, and violating the court order.
The court said that users in Brazil bypassing the ban using “technological subterfuges” like VPNs to use X could face a daily fine of R$50,000 ($8,899) and other civil and criminal sanctions.
Musk, also the CEO of Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX, has been outspoken about his views on the suspension in Brazil, declaring on X that the judge’s decision is “crushing the people’s right to free speech.”
In a post from the company’s global government affairs team, X said that the suspension occurred because the platform “would not comply with his illegal orders to censor [de Moraes’] political opponents,” and claimed that the court’s actions violated Brazil’s laws surrounding freedom of speech.
Brazil Takes Aim at SpaceX’s Starlink Next
As part of the suspension, Brazil’s government asked internet providers to block X. Starlink, a division of Musk’s SpaceX that provides satellite internet networks, is reportedly the only provider that won’t comply with the order.
Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency Commissioner Artur Coimbra reportedly told Reuters that Starlink is the only company that has told the government agency it won’t follow the judge’s ruling.
Starlink on Aug. 29 said the Brazilian government had frozen the company’s finances while determining if its funds could be used to pay the fines owed by X, a company Starlink calls “unaffiliated” with it. Starlink said it serves more than a quarter of a million customers in Brazil.
Musk took to X that same day, saying “SpaceX will provide Internet service to users in Brazil for free until this matter is resolved, as we cannot receive payment, but don’t want to cut anyone off.”
The X CEO has faced criticism for potentially leveraging his position in one of his companies to benefit another. For instance, in June Musk reportedly redirected Nvidia (NVDA) chips meant for Tesla to his artificial intelligence (AI) company, xAI.
Why It Matters
Brazil’s X ban comes amid debates about how social media companies should navigate misinformation and disinformation on their platforms.
Just last week, Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the U.S. government pressured the company into “censoring” content related to COVID due to misinformation concerns.
Concerns about the spread of misinformation are especially potent during an election year.