Ban of X in Brazil: the Duel between Elon Musk and a Supreme Court Judge

Ban of X in Brazil: the Duel between Elon Musk and a Supreme Court Judge

On Saturday, August 31st, the Supreme Court of Brazil upheld the ban on the social network X. This decision stems from a conflict between Elon Musk, the CEO of the network, and the Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes.

Elon Musk is accused of crossing too many boundaries in the eyes of the Brazilian justice system. After shutting down X offices in Brazil in mid-August 2024, the company had no legal representative in the country and no one to address the accusations from Judge Alexandre de Moraes. X also owes 18 million reais, which is around 3 million euros, and there is no one to settle the bill.

However, Elon Musk had already defied the Brazilian justice system in April 2024 when he reactivated profiles of far-right individuals disseminating false information. These profiles had been suspended as part of an investigation into the attempted coup by former president Jair Bolsonaro in 2023. The standoff escalated when the Supreme Court judge blocked the accounts of Starlink, the satellite internet provider owned by Elon Musk.

With municipal elections just a month away, this decision is primarily political. In this duel, there is Judge Alexandre de Moraes, a figure in the fight against disinformation in Brazil and a target of Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters. On the other side, there is the world’s richest man, the head of X, Tesla, SpaceX, and a close ally of Donald Trump.

Disinformation or freedom of expression

Elon Musk champions the banner of freedom of expression against the censorship of a judge he readily labels as a dictator. On his X profile, he has humorously posted montages of the judge as Voldemort from Harry Potter. Alexandre de Moraes, on the other hand, accuses the billionaire of criminally manipulating the platform. Since September 2, 2024, the decision is no longer that of one man as the Supreme Court unanimously confirmed X’s suspension in a virtual session.

Among users, some understand the motivations behind the ban, while others, who already despised Judge Alexandre de Moraes, are siding with Elon Musk. With 22 million users in Brazil, the country is the platform’s sixth-largest market. Some feel caught in the middle of this conflict, especially as those attempting to circumvent the ban through network simulators like VPNs face fines of nearly 8,000 euros. Since the ban, internet users are turning to other social networks like Meta’s Threads or Bluesky, which reportedly gained 1 million subscribers.