Al Jazeera :
Telecommunications regulators in Brazil have begun the process of blocking X after the Supreme Court ordered the suspension of the social media platform for failing to meet a deadline to appoint a legal representative in the country.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Friday ordered the “immediate, complete and total suspension of X’s operations” in the country “until all court orders … are complied with, fines are duly paid, and a new legal representative for the company is appointed”.
Three of the country’s top telecommunications carriers said they would begin blocking access from midnight (03:00 GMT on Saturday), according to a report by local news outlet UOL.
The judge has been locked in a months-long feud with billionaire investor Elon Musk over disinformation and free speech.
At the core of the dispute, de Moraes argues that Musk refused earlier this year to block accounts responsible for the spread of fake news, hate speech and attacks on the rule of law.
At the time, Musk denounced the order as censorship and responded by closing the company’s offices in Brazil while ensuring the platform was still available in the country.