According to Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the platform faces a ban if Musk does not appoint a legal representative within 24 hours.
Brazil’s Supreme Court threatened to ban X if its billionaire owner Elon Musk does not appoint a legal representative in the Latin American country within 24 hours.
Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said in a ruling published on Wednesday that failure to appoint a legal representative could lead to the “suspension of the social network’s activities.”
The order is the latest development in a months-long dispute between Musk and de Moraes, who is leading a crackdown on alleged misinformation and disinformation in the country of more than 200 million people.
De Moraes has ordered the blocking of more than 100 X accounts in recent years for disinformation, including some belonging to supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who lost the 2022 elections to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
De Moraes accused Musk in April of conducting a “disinformation campaign” and disrespecting Brazil’s sovereignty after the Tesla CEO decided to stop complying with court orders to block certain X accounts.
Musk, who describes himself as an advocate of absolute freedom of expression, accused de Moraes of suppressing freedom of expression and violating the Brazilian constitution.
X announced the closure of its operations in Brazil earlier this month. De Moraes had threatened to arrest one of the company’s legal representatives if the company did not follow his orders to close.
The Supreme Court declined to comment on X’s allegations at the time.
Right-wing allies of Bolsonaro, who was barred from running for office until 2030 by de Moraes and four other judges over allegations that electronic voting was rigged, accused the chief justice of exceeding his powers to suppress his political opponents.
De Moraes’ defenders argue that his actions were necessary at a time of rampant disinformation and right-wing threats to democracy.
Musk met Bolsonaro in 2022 after traveling to Brazil to discuss the expansion of its Starlink satellite internet service and other technology projects in the region.