Brazil's Supreme Court ordered telecoms regulator Anatel to block Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter), after months of demanding the social media platform reveal the identity of a user accused of spreading hate speech.
Reuters reported that the X blackout followed after Musk’s company failed to meet a deadline to reveal the individual.
Musk said in a tweet: “They're shutting down the #1 source of truth in Brazil”. He argued that the Brazilian Supreme Court was enforcing unjustified censorship, Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes argued the social media platform needed to control hate speech.
X was taken offline on the evening of August 30th. Moraes ordered Anatel to suspend X until the user’s identity was revealed and a payment of US$3 million in fines is made. Those who use X through alternative methods such as a VPN could be fined up to BRL 50,000 (US$8,900) per day.
Apple and Google were ordered to remove the X app from their respective app stores and to prevent iOS and Android devices from tapping into VPNs to use X.
In the months leading up to this decision Musk closed X offices in Brazil. Musk’s satellite business Starlink saw its local bank accounts frozen under court order.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva backed the court order, saying in a radio interview that X had to comply with local laws.
