If X ignores the court order to block access for users in Brazil, the company will be fined five million reals (around 820,000 euros) per day.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes stated in his ruling that X was behaving “recalcitrantly” and had “unlawfully, persistently and intentionally” disregarded the court order blocking the service in Brazil.
On Wednesday suddenly access again
On Wednesday, several X users unexpectedly regained access to the service, which had been blocked following a Supreme Court decision. As the AFP news agency noted, the online service formerly known as Twitter was accessible to some users via mobile network and Wi-Fi, while other users still had no access.
X explained that this was only “accidental and temporary” and justified the temporary restoration of access by saying that the network provider had changed. It also said that the company was continuing to work with the Brazilian government to be available in Brazil “very soon again”.
“Disregard for justice”
Brazil’s Chief Justice Moraes blocked X in early September, arguing that owner Musk had “demonstrated his total disregard for Brazilian sovereignty and, in particular, the judiciary.” While Judge Moraes justified the blocking as a measure against disinformation and hate speech, opponents of the left-wing Brazilian government of President Inácio Lula da Silva accuse it of censorship and abuse of power.
Moraes had previously blocked several accounts on X and its predecessor service Twitter that were suspected of spreading disinformation. These included accounts belonging to supporters of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, who had spread unsubstantiated claims about alleged security flaws in the country’s electoral system after his defeat in the 2022 election.
Musk has come out as a supporter of the right-wing populist US presidential candidate Donald Trump, who also supports Bolsonaro. Musk himself also regularly publishes messages against a left-wing worldview on his X-account. For Musk, Judge Moares is an “evil dictator” and “pseudo-judge” who is destroying democracy “for political purposes” because of the ban.
