Musk's X braces for Brazil shutdown as authorities call for accountability

SAO PAULO: An ongoing feud between a Brazil Supreme Court justice and Elon Musk left social media platform X on the brink of being blocked in the country, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva demanded that the billionaire comply with local laws.

X was still working normally in Brazil on Friday morning, but the platform said late on Thursday that it expected Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to order a shutdown "soon," after a court-imposed deadline expired for the company to identify a legal representative in Brazil.

"Each and every citizen from any part of the world that 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. Musk on Thursday 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 contain "hate speech." He did not provide any details about when he might issue an order blocking 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 laws governing the internet, social media platforms are required to have a locally based representative.

To shut down X's operations in Brazil, Moraes would have to order telecommunication companies to stop carrying X traffic. Users, however, would still be able to dodge the blockage by using virtual private networks, or VPNs.

Amid the underlying feud over X, Brazil's Supreme Court also blocked the local bank accounts of the Starlink satellite internet firm, which is 40% owned by Musk.

Musk has said on X that Starlink — which offers internet connections to remote places — would continue to serve Brazilians for free "until this matter is resolved," claiming that many isolated schools and hospitals depend on the firm.

The billionaire also said in a separate X post that Starlink would "continue to support the Brazilian military even though our bank accounts in Brazil have been illegally frozen."

The country's military had said in a document sent to the lower house in June that an interruption of Starlink's services would negatively affect its operations and could harm the strategic employment of specialized troops.