Brazil's Supreme Court orders nationwide suspension of X

Justice Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil's Federal Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal or STF) on Friday issued a decisive order for the immediate suspension of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, across the entire country. This drastic move comes in response to the platform's failure to comply with Brazilian legal requirements.

Earlier on August 29, Justice Moraes had instructed Elon Musk to designate a legal representative for X in Brazil within a 24-hour window. Failure to meet this demand would result in the nationwide suspension of the platform. The STF publicly stated, "STF summons Elon Musk and X to appoint a legal representative within 24 hours, under penalty of suspension of activities in Brazil."

The court emphasized that non-compliance with this directive would lead to the immediate suspension of X's operations in Brazil. The suspension will remain in place until the platform adheres to all judicial decisions and pays the imposed fines. Additionally, the suspension will persist until a legal representative for the company is appointed within the country.

As per the decision outlined in Petition (PET) 12404, Carlos Manuel Baigorri, the president of the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), has been directed to implement all necessary measures to enforce the suspension. Furthermore, Justice Moraes ordered Apple and Google to take steps to block the use of the X app on iOS and Android systems and remove it from their respective app stores.

Moraes expressed that the STF had exhausted all efforts to encourage X Brasil to comply with the court's orders and pay the fines. The failure of X Brasil to cooperate, coupled with the disappearance of its legal representatives in Brazil, left the court with no option but to enforce this severe measure.

The court's decision also includes a daily fine of BRL 50,000 for individuals and companies attempting to use "technological subterfuges" to bypass the suspension, in addition to potential civil and criminal penalties.