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X shuts down Brazil operations

• Brazil's Supreme Court is set to vote on the ban of Elon Musk's social media platform, X. The decision will be reviewed by a five-member panel, including Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who ordered the shutdown.
• The dispute began when X missed a court-imposed deadline to name a legal representative in Brazil, leading to its suspension.
• The case could set a precedent for how countries regulate social media platforms and handle disputes with tech giants.

In a development that has sent shockwaves through the tech world, Brazil's Supreme Court is set to vote on the controversial ban of social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk. The decision, which has sparked a global debate on the balance between freedom of speech and regulation of online content, is expected to be made by a five-member panel of the court on Monday. The panel will review the ruling of Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who ordered the shutdown of X in Brazil.

Moraes, who has been embroiled in a bitter feud with Musk for several months, has been labeled a dictator by the tech mogul. The Justice has convened a virtual session of the court's first chamber, of which he is a member, to allow his peers to review his decision. The Supreme Court of Brazil is composed of 11 justices, divided between two chambers of five members each, excluding the chief justice.

The Dispute and Its Roots

These justices have the power to either uphold or reject decisions made by a single judge. The first chamber, which will be reviewing Moraes' decision, includes Justices Carmen Lucia, Luiz Fux, Cristiano Zanin, and Flavio Dino, alongside Moraes. The dispute between Moraes and Musk began when X was taken down in Brazil, one of its largest markets, in the early hours of Saturday. This followed a decision by Moraes, who had been locked in a months-long feud with Musk.

The social media platform had missed a court-imposed deadline on Thursday evening to name a legal representative in Brazil, as required by local law, triggering the suspension. The roots of the dispute can be traced back to an order by Moraes earlier this year. The Justice had required the platform to block accounts implicated in probes of alleged misinformation and hate speech.

The Consequences and Historical Parallels

Musk, however, argued that Moraes was trying to enforce unjustified censorship and closed the X office in Brazil in August, without appointing a new representative. Moraes has maintained that social media platforms need regulations to curb hate speech. Moraes' latest decision was supported by Chief Justice Luis Roberto Barroso. In an interview with newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, Barroso stated, A company that refuses to name a legal representative in Brazil cannot operate in Brazilian territory.

The situation escalated when Moraes imposed a daily fine of 50,000 reais ($8,900) for people or companies using VPNs to access X. This led to the freezing of the bank accounts in Brazil of Musk's satellite internet provider, Starlink. In April, de Moraes included Musk as a target in an ongoing investigation over the dissemination of fake news and opened a separate investigation into the executive for alleged obstruction.

The case has drawn parallels with historical instances where tech companies have faced regulatory challenges in various jurisdictions. For instance, in 2010, Google threatened to pull out of China over censorship issues, a move that sparked a global debate on internet freedom. Similarly, in 2012, Twitter was blocked in Iran during the country's parliamentary elections, highlighting the tensions between social media platforms and state authorities.