Before Brazil and Elon Musk: X’s history of run-ins with left and right

How X’s run-ins with foreign governments have shifted across the political spectrum under Musk’s leadership.

All five judges on Brazil’s Supreme Court panel voted last week to uphold a ban on Elon Musk’s social media platform X in the country, rendering the mobile app inaccessible to almost 212 million users in Brazil.

Anatel, the telecommunications regulator of Brazil, instructed internet service providers to halt users’ access to the social media platform after X failed to appoint a legal representative in the South American country, a requirement for any foreign company wishing to operate in the country. A deadline had been set for August 29 by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

After the deadline passed, de Moraes said in a statement: “Elon Musk showed his total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty and, in particular, for the judiciary, setting himself up as a true supranational entity and immune to the laws of each country.”

Musk snapped back, calling de Moraes “an evil dictator” for shutting down the “#1 source of truth in Brazil”.

Judge de Moraes also issued a daily fine of 50,000 reals ($8,965) to be imposed on businesses and individuals in Brazil making use of virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X.