The ban stems from Elon Musk’s X platform’s refusal of a Brazilian court order to block certain accounts|@elonmusk|X
Brazil’s Supreme Court unanimously voted on Monday to uphold the decision to ban Elon Musk-owned X and fine anyone accessing it using VPN and other means.
The decision follows Judge Alexandre de Moraes’s suspension of X last week due to Musk’s refusal to comply with legal orders to block certain accounts for spreading misinformation, pay fines, and appoint a legal representative in Brazil.
Moraes began investigating the social media site after Musk defied court orders to block certain accounts for spreading misinformation.
Musk has accused the judge of censorship and undermining free speech for political reasons.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticized billionaire Musk yesterday, stating the “world is not obliged to put up with Musk’s far-right ideology just because he is rich,” according to the Wall Street Journal.
The ban has hit fan communities especially hard. Artists like Cardi B and Alessia Cara have even expressed concern over losing their Brazilian fan pages.
In the few days since the ban on X, several users have migrated to other short messaging platforms like Bluesky and Threads. Bluesky has seen over 200,000 new users from Brazil sign up for the app.
The ban also disrupts political conversations online since X was a platform for Brazilian journalists and politicians to express their views.