Brazilian Supreme Court judge orders SHUTDOWN of Elon Musk's X in latest blow to free speech

The move is the latest chapter in an ongoing feud between a Brazilian Supreme Court justice and X owner Elon Musk, which also included the freezing of the satellite internet provider Starlink's financial accounts in Brazil.

In the decision, Moraes ordered the full and immediate suspension of X in the country until all related court orders on X were complied with.

The orders include the payment of fines amounting 18.5million reais (£2.51m) and the nomination of a legal representative in Brazil. Moraes ordered telecomunications regulator Anatel to implement the suspension order, and to confirm to the court within 24 hours that it has carried it out.

In a bid to avoid the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) to circumvent the blockage, Moraes said that individuals or companies who tried to keep access to the social network that way could be fined up to 50,000 reais (£6,785) a day.

X said late on Thursday that it expected Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to order a shutdown "soon," after a court-imposed deadline expired for the company to identify a legal representative in Brazil.

Earlier this year, Moraes ordered X to block certain accounts implicated in probes of so-called digital militias accused of spreading distorted news and hate.

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Musk, denouncing the order as censorship, responded by closing the platform's offices in Brazil. X, formerly known as Twitter, said at the time that its services would still be available in Brazil.

Amid the underlying feud over X, Brazil's Supreme Court also blocked the local bank accounts of the Starlink satellite internet firm, which is 40 per cent owned by Musk, leading the company on Friday to ask the court to suspend that decision.

Reactions to the feud between Moraes and Musk are divided. Some X users shared Musk's criticism of the judge's decisions, saying he was undermining freedom of speech in Brazil.

However, others agreed with the judge's view that Musk should not be above Brazilian law.

Supporters of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro see Musk as an ally in their opposition to Moraes' investigations into so-called digital militias that have been accused of spreading "fake news" and hate messages during Bolsonaro's government which extended from 2019 to 2022.

X is widely used in Brazil and is an important means of communication, especially for politicians as a means to put out their views and attack their rivals.

The country is about to enter the campaign phase for local municipal elections in October that will decide the mayors of 5,568 towns and cities.