SAO PAULO: An ongoing dispute between a Brazilian Supreme Court judge and Elon Musk has left social media platform X on the brink of being blocked in the country, as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva demanded the billionaire comply with local laws.
X was still operating normally in Brazil on Friday morning, but the platform said late Thursday it expected Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes to order the shutdown “soon,” after a court-imposed deadline for the company to identify a legal representative in Brazil expired.
“Any citizen from anywhere in the world who has an investment in Brazil is subject to the Brazilian Constitution and Brazilian laws,” Lula told a local radio station on Friday.
“Just because a guy has a lot of money doesn't mean he can disrespect (the law),” the leftist leader added. On Thursday, Musk had criticized Lula as Moraes' “lapdog” in a post on X in which the billionaire also called Moraes a “dictator.”
The judge, in a separate event on Friday, reiterated his view that social media needs regulation to curb “hate speech.” He did not provide details on when he might issue an order to block X.
“Those who violate democracy, who violate fundamental human rights, whether in person or through social media, must be held accountable,” Moraes said.
Under Brazilian internet laws, social media platforms must have a local representative.
To shut down X’s operations in Brazil, Moraes would have to order telecommunications companies to stop carrying X’s traffic. However, users could still get around the block by using virtual private networks, or VPNs.
Amid the underlying dispute over X, Brazil's Supreme Court also blocked local bank accounts of satellite internet company Starlink, which Musk owns 40%.
Musk said on X that Starlink — which provides internet connections to remote locations — would continue to serve Brazilians for free “until this matter is resolved,” saying many isolated schools and hospitals rely on the firm.
The billionaire also said in a separate post on X that Starlink “will continue to support the Brazilian military despite our bank accounts in Brazil being illegally frozen.”
The country's military had said in a document sent to the lower house in June that a disruption of Starlink services would negatively affect its operations and could harm the strategic employment of specialized troops.
