Brazil's highest court has warned of a potential suspension of X due to the absence of a legal representative
Brasilia [Brazil], August 29: Justice Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil's Federal Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal or STF) has given Elon Musk 24 hours to appoint a legal representative for his social media platform X in Brazil or face a nationwide suspension.
The STF announced on its official X account, "STF summons Elon Musk and X to appoint a legal representative within 24 hours, under penalty of suspension of activities in Brazil."
On its website, the STF detailed, "Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) summoned Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter), to designate a new legal representative for the company in Brazil within 24 hours."
The STF also noted that the summons was issued through a post on the Court's official X profile. The lawyer involved in the case was previously ordered on August 18, 2024, to provide the necessary information.
Failure to comply with this order will result in the suspension of X's operations in Brazil, the STF warned.
Elon Musk is currently under investigation in inquiry (INQ) 4957, which examines allegations of obstruction of justice, criminal organization, and incitement to crime.
Earlier this year, Alexandre de Moraes instructed X to block certain accounts accused of disseminating false information and hate speech, including accounts linked to supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Bolsonaro had repeatedly alleged that Brazil's electronic voting system was susceptible to fraud before the 2022 elections. After his defeat by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Bolsonaro's supporters stormed key state institutions in protest.
Moraes, who leads Brazil's Superior Electoral Tribunal, has stated, "Freedom of expression does not equate to freedom of aggression" and "does not mean the freedom to defend tyranny."
Additionally, Moraes initiated an investigation into Musk earlier this year after Musk announced plans to reactivate accounts that the judge had ordered to be blocked.