Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes mandated billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday to designate a legal representative for his messaging platform X in Brazil within 24 hours, or risk suspension of the site in the country, according to a court decision released on Wednesday evening.
Earlier this month, X declared it would shut down its operations and lay off its staff in Brazil, citing "censorship orders" from Moraes, while affirming that the service would continue to be accessible for users in Brazil. The Supreme Court shared a screenshot of Wednesday's court decision on its X account, mentioning Musk's and X's Global Government Affairs accounts.
In the document, Moraes states that under Brazil's law governing Internet matters, companies that fail to adhere to Brazilian legislation or protect the confidentiality of private information may have their operations temporarily suspended. Shortly after the judge's ruling, Musk posted on X that Moraes "has repeatedly violated the laws he is sworn to uphold."
