A majority of a five-member panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court upheld Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ ruling to shut down the social media platform X in the country for not following local laws. Justices Flavio Dino and Cristiano Zanin supported Moraes, making a majority decision even though Justices Luiz Fux and Carmen Lucia had not voted yet.
X was removed in Brazil, one of its biggest markets, early on Saturday after Moraes’ decision, because the platform did not appoint a legal representative in Brazil as required by local law by the deadline set by the court. Moraes also ordered that people who continued to access X using VPNs would be fined up to 50,000 reais ($8,865.56) per day.
Moraes and X owner Elon Musk have been in a dispute for many months after the platform challenged legal orders to block accounts linked to spreading fake news and hate in Brazil.
Justice Dino said that a company cannot operate in a country and decide which rules to follow. He added, “Not following court decisions shows a lack of respect for the law and can make someone a criminal.”
Zanin emphasized that ignoring Brazil Supreme Court decisions was a serious offense, stating that no one can do business in Brazil without following the laws and the constitution.
The image included shows the logo of social media platform X on a mobile phone with a reflection of Brazil’s Supreme Court in Brasilia.
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