Brazil's Top Court Threatens to Ban X in 24 Hours if Musk Fails to Appoint Legal Representative

Brasília: The Brazilian Supreme Court has threatened to shut down all local operations of X, formerly known as Twitter, unless its owner Tesla CEO and world's richest man Elon Musk names an in-country legal representative within 24 hours.

The order came from Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Wednesday amid an ongoing feud with Musk's platform.

The company has had its clashes with de Moraes who earlier this year over 'free speech,' accounts associated with the far-right and misinformation, claimed to be a victim of censorship.

Earlier this month, the microblogging site said that it was removing all remaining Brazil staff in the country "effective immediately," stating that de Moraes had threatened its legal representative with 'arrest.'

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday notified X of de Moraes' order replying to a post from the company's global government affairs account on the platform.

"In case of non-compliance with the determination, the decision could bring about suspension of the social media network's activities in Brazil," the court's statement read.

This case became an evident dispute since in the United States, free speech is a strong constitutional right and is much relaxed compared to other countries.For instance, in Brazil, Judge de Moraes ordered an investigation into Musk in April for "over the dissemination of defamatory fake news" and another probe over the "possible obstruction, incitement and criminal organisation."

Brazil's political right often accused de Moraes of going too far in limiting free speech and engaging in political persecution. However, his supporters supported him arguing that his actions are legal, backed by most of the court, and are meant to protect democracy during a time of crisis.

(Inputs from AP)