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[text/ruan jiaqi, observer network]

after the dispute between elon musk, the owner of social media platform x (formerly twitter), and the brazilian federal supreme court over "freedom of online speech" further escalated, x, which has at least 40 million users in brazil, was required to be completely shut down due to failure to implement the ruling of the brazilian supreme court within the specified time.

according to reuters, the associated press and other media reports on the 30th, brazil's three major telecom operators said on the 30th local time that they would officially block access to x from 3 a.m. on the 31st. brazil's telecom regulator anatel also said it was working on enforcing the ban, but did not specify a timetable. reuters quoted local media as saying that later on the 30th, some brazilians posted on other platforms that their access to x had been blocked.

brazilian president lula said on a local radio show in joao pessoa, a northeastern brazilian city, on the 30th that musk should respect the ruling of the brazilian supreme court and should not offend the brazilian authorities. "every citizen from anywhere in the world who invests in brazil is subject to brazilian law."

he added on his personal x account, "being rich doesn't mean these people can do whatever they want. they must accept the country's regulations and respect the supreme court's decision."

two days ago (on the evening of the 28th), the brazilian supreme court published the latest order signed by supreme court justice alexandre de moraes on its official website and official social media accounts, requiring the x platform to appoint a new legal representative within 24 hours, otherwise x's services in brazil will be suspended until it complies with the order.

when the final moment came on thursday night (29th), platform x announced through its global government affairs team that they had not complied with the order and were waiting to be shut down in brazil after the countdown ended. the u.s. embassy in brazil said it was paying attention to the conflict.

the escalating conflict between musk and brazilian supreme court justice de morais began earlier this year when x refused to carry out de morais's request to block accounts that spread false information. musk questioned this at the time and said that x would cancel "unconstitutional" restrictions such as blocking accounts, while calling on de morais to resign.

since april, de morais has ordered an investigation into musk and his x company on suspicion of spreading defamatory false news, as well as suspected obstruction of justice, incitement and organized crime. in a legal document, de morais said that musk "launched a fake news campaign" and that x was abusing its economic power to "illegally influence public opinion."

the dispute between the two sides continued until mid-august. x's global government affairs team stated in a statement on the 17th that since de morais had recently threatened to arrest x's legal representative in brazil, in order to protect employees, they decided to close their office in brazil, but x will continue to provide services to brazilian users as usual.

on august 28, local time, de morais issued an "ultimatum" to x, requiring x to appoint a new legal representative for the platform in brazil within 24 hours, otherwise the platform's services in brazil will be suspended.

according to the press office of the brazilian supreme court, de morais' order is based on brazilian law, which requires foreign companies operating in the country to have legal representatives so that they can be notified when the court makes relevant decisions and take necessary actions.

"elon musk has absolutely no respect for brazil's sovereignty, especially its judiciary," de morais slammed in the order. "he has constructed himself as a true supranational entity, not subject to the laws of various countries."

in a latest order, he also gave internet service providers a five-day deadline to block users from accessing x. the associated press added that brazil's telecommunications regulator anatel needs to respond within 24 hours. the agency's chairman told brazilian media that brazil's largest service providers will respond quickly, and smaller service providers may need more time to suspend x's services.

musk slammed de morais on x, calling him "an unelected fake judge who undermines free speech." de morais did not back down, hitting back at an event on friday, "those who violate democracy and basic human rights, whether they do it in person or through social media, must be held accountable."

the deadline for x to execute the order was 20:07 local time on the 29th (7:07 beijing time on the 30th). however, x did not do so, but said that they were waiting for the deadline to be reached and then shut down in brazil.

according to the new york times, in the dispute over x, the brazilian supreme court also froze starlink's local bank account. the report said that this move was "rare" and that de morais was trying to collect the $3 million fine he imposed on x. in his ruling, he said that the order to freeze starlink's assets was because there was not enough money in x's account to pay the increasing fines, and the two companies belonged to the same economic group.

starlink has more than 215,000 active lines in brazil and more than 250,000 users. earlier on friday, starlink appealed to the brazilian supreme court to suspend the decision to freeze its local bank accounts, saying it had complied with all judicial orders. however, the appeal was rejected by another judge that evening.

musk was very annoyed by this and angrily denounced de morais on x as "the worst criminal disguised as a judge." he then posted that starlink will continue to provide free internet services to the brazilian people (including the military) until the matter is resolved. "(although) we can't receive payment, we don't want to cut off anyone's connection."

according to the associated press, shutting down foreign social media is not unprecedented in brazil. in 2015 and 2016, brazilian judges shut down whatsapp, the country's most widely used instant messaging app, several times because meta refused police requests for user data. in 2022, telegram was accused of repeatedly ignoring brazilian authorities' requests to block personal data and provide information, and also received a shutdown warning. in the end, it was able to continue operating normally in brazil after complying with relevant regulations.

this article is an exclusive article of observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.