X is no longer operating in Brazil after its billionaire owner Elon Musk refused to comply with the country’s laws led to it being shut down.
The shutdown took place on the morning of Saturday, August 30. Millions of Brazilian X users were suddenly unable to access the network. Internet providers and mobile phone companies began enforcing the ban, leaving users frustrated and disconnected.
When the Guardian attempted to access X on both computer and mobile devices, it received the message:
“Seems like you lost connectivity. We’ll keep retrying.”
Migration to Bluesky
As X went dark, a significant number of Brazilians flocked to its rival Bluesky. Bluesky reported a surge of 500,000 new users within two days. In a welcoming gesture, Bluesky greeted its new members with a post in Portuguese: “Welcome to Bluesky!”
Among the new members was Felipe Neto, one of Brazil’s most influential social media figures with over 17 million followers on X. Neto reminded his followers:
“Don’t forget, when you go to another country, you’re obliged to follow its legislation, even if you disagree with it.”
The Conflict Between Musk and the Supreme Court
X has more than 22 million users in Brazil. The ban marks the culmination of a politically charged, months-long standoff between Brazil’s Supreme Court and Elon Musk.
Alexandre de Moraes is the influential Supreme Court judge behind the ban. He has been leading efforts to force X to purge anti-democratic, far-right voices following the January 2023 uprising in Brasília. The uprising was carried out by supporters of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.
Elon Musk, who has aligned himself with right-wing figures like Bolsonaro and former U.S. President Donald Trump, resisted these efforts.
He accused Moraes of stifling free speech and attempting to censor conservative views. Musk’s public attacks on Morae echoed his previous online jabs at British Prime Minister Keir Starmer during the far-right UK riots, which some accused X of inflaming.
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The Final Straw
The situation escalated further when Musk ignored a 24-hour deadline on Thursday to appoint a new legal representative after X closed its Brazil office in mid-August. In his ruling ordering the ban, Moraes said X was:
“like a no man’s land—a veritable land without law”
He said this had occurred by permitting the “massive propagation” of misinformation, hate speech, and anti-democratic content. Hours after the ruling, just after midnight local time, Brazilian users began noticing that X had been effectively blocked.
Musk’s Reaction and the Political Fallout
In response, Musk intensified his attacks on Moraes. He called the judge “Voldemort” and sharing a crude meme on X, which was now inaccessible to Brazilian users without a virtual private network (VPN).
He further accused Moraes of being “a dictator and a fraud, not a justice.”
Progressive Response and Legal Implications
In contrast, many progressive Brazilians dismissed Musk’s claims of defending free speech, applauding the Supreme Court’s decision to assert the rule of law over corporate interests.
Left-wing congresswoman Erika Hilton expressed her support, stating:
“If billionaires want to have companies that make billions in these parts, they need to learn to respect the laws. Long live the rule of law and national sovereignty.”
In her final post on X before the ban took effect, Hilton announced her move to Bluesky, saying, “See you there soon.”
