Five justices from the Brazilian Supreme Court voted on Monday to support a ruling (PDF) that requires the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to restrict access to X, previously known as Twitter.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued the ban on Friday because X’s owner, Elon Musk, did not follow court orders to block certain accounts and name a legal representative in Brazil. Four other justices have agreed with this decision.
Brazilian Court’s Ban on X and Its Effects
According to Poder360 and The Globe, three justices Cristiano Zanin, Flávio Dino, and Cármen Lúcia completely agreed with de Moraes’ ruling. A fourth justice, Luiz Fux, had some concerns about fining people who use a VPN to get around the ban, suggesting that only those who post criminal content, such as messages supporting Nazism or fascism, should be fined.
Regarding the impact of the ban, other platforms have seen a surge in new accounts created by Brazilian users. The news outlet Poder360 mentioned that it will now manage its X account only from Portugal to comply with the judge’s ruling.
Starlink has informed Brazil’s telecom regulator, Anatel, that it will not follow the ban until the court releases its frozen assets. Currently, X is still available through Starlink. According to The New York Times, de Moraes has stopped Starlink from doing business in Brazil as the court tries to collect $3 million in unpaid fines from X. SpaceX, which runs the satellite internet service, is also partly owned by Musk.
Poder360 reports that the court order instructed internet providers and app stores to take action to block access to X in Brazil within five days, setting a deadline for Wednesday, September 4th.
Conclusion
The Brazilian Supreme Court’s decision to limit access to X has sparked debate among justices and led to increased activity on other platforms. The ruling has also caused issues with companies like Starlink. The ban will take effect soon, with a deadline set for September 4th.
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