Today's Edition
Sao Paulo (AFP)
Brazil's Supreme Court on Monday ratified the decision by one of its judges to suspend Elon Musk's X social network for alleged judicial transgressions.
Access to the network in the country has been blocked since Saturday morning, hours after judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered the suspension of the platform.
Moraes's ruling came after Musk failed to comply with an order to name a new legal representative for the company in Brazil -- a requirement X has rejected as "illegal."
Moraes and Musk have been locked in a high-profile feud for months as the judge has vowed to fight disinformation and Musk claims the supremacy of free speech.
On Monday, five Supreme Court judges, including Moraes himself, voted in a virtual session to uphold 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 said in the new ruling.
His colleague Flavio Dino added that "freedom of expression does not excuse repeated violations of the legal system."
Musk, who also owns Tesla and SpaceX, reacted with fury to last Friday's order, branding Moraes as an "evil dictator cosplaying as a judge" and accusing him of "trying to destroy democracy in Brazil."
The standoff began when Moraes ordered the suspension of several X accounts belonging to supporters of Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Online users blocked by Moraes include far-right ex-congressman Daniel Silveira, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2022 on charges of leading a movement to overthrow the Supreme Court.
In April, Moraes ordered an investigation of Musk, accusing him of reactivating some of the banned accounts.
The suspension of X came just over a month before municipal elections are to be held in Brazil.
In August, X announced it was shuttering its offices in Brazil due to the Moraes's actions, but assured clients they would still have access to its services.
Until Friday, X counted about 22 million users in Brazil, according to the site DataReportal.
