Rio de Janeiro. After the social media company X (formerly Twitter) refused to appoint a legal officer in Brazil, Brazil's Supreme Court judge Justice Alexandre de Moraes has issued an order banning X across the country.
On Wednesday, Justice De Morias gave Elon Musk's company a deadline of 24 hours to appoint a legal officer. Earlier, on August 17, X had closed its office, claiming that its former legal officer had received threats of imprisonment.
According to news agency Xinhua, X Company has been embroiled in months of controversy with Judge de Moraes for not complying with court orders to remove officials who were promoting news of a coup in the country and content that undermined democracy.
On Friday, Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) also fined X 18 million reais (about $3.2 million) for failing to comply.
The judge upheld the federal court's decision, saying the company had repeatedly and deliberately ignored court orders and was not willing to pay the fines imposed. X was accused of trying to circumvent Brazil's legal system in the 2024 municipal elections and creating a “lawless zone” on social media.
Justice de Morias further stated that X had “facilitated the actions of extremist groups and digital terrorists, helping to spread Nazi, racist, fascist, hateful and antidemocratic speech.”
The Brazilian judge also ordered the country's National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to block X within 24 hours. Apple and Google have five days to remove X's app from their online stores.
In addition, a fine of 50,000 riyals (about $10,000) per day has also been ordered on any individual or company that uses methods such as VPN to access X after the ban.
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– / Written By Top News Bulletin
Image Credit: KhasKhabar.