Today's Edition
Rio de Janeiro (dpa)
A judge in Brazil has ordered the blocking of Elon Musk's online platform X amid a long-running dispute with the billionaire.
Brazil's Supreme Court said in a statement that Justice Alexandre on Friday ordered "the immediate and complete suspension of the operation of X, formerly Twitter, throughout the country until the Court's judicial decisions are complied with and the fines imposed are paid."
The judge ordered Brazil's telecommunications authority to implement the order within 24 hours.
De Moraes accuses X of taking insufficient action against the spread of hate speech and fake news. Musk, for his part, accuses the judge of censorship and labelled him an "evil dictator."
The judge demanded that X block the accounts of right-wing activists who spread conspiracy theories and false information. Musk described the demand as unlawful, the online platform did not comply with the request - nor did it pay the fine imposed.
Musk then had the tech company's office in Brazil closed in mid-August on the grounds that he feared the company's representative in the country would be arrested.
De Moraes gave X an ultimatum, saying the platform's access in the country would be suspended if the company failed to appoint a legal representative within 24 hours. Musk let the deadline pass without appointing anyone.
As advertising revenues in the US home market are dropping following the platform's shift to the right under Musk, foreign markets such as Brazil, with a population of more than 200 million, have become more important for X's finances.
According to media reports, X has around 20 million users in the Latin American country.
