Shortly after midnight, local time, the ban on X came into effect in Brazil, according to AFP. The measure comes after owner Elon Musk refused to appoint a representative for the company in the country. This means that it is no longer possible to access X in Brazil.
The social media platform will be blocked in the country until X complies with the court's demands, according to Alexandre de Moraes, chairman of the court that is the highest authority in matters related to general elections in Brazil.
Long struggle
X's owner Elon Musk reacted angrily when the verdict was a fact.
"Freedom of expression is the very cornerstone of a democracy, and now a non-elected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political reasons", he writes on X.
The decision is the culmination of a several-month-long struggle between X and the court, and Musk closed the company's office in the country earlier this month after demands to shut down accounts spreading disinformation.
20 million users
Judge de Moraes accuses X of not being aggressive enough in cleaning up the platform, which according to the highest court has been a forum for various extremists spreading Nazism, other hate rhetoric, and anti-democratic content, among other things, ahead of regional elections in the country in October.
According to various measurements, 20 million Brazilians use X, formerly Twitter, and technically, the service can be accessed through so-called VPN programs that can bypass national borders on the internet.
However, according to the highest court's ruling, anyone using X despite the ban risks fines of 50,000 real, equivalent to approximately 100,000 Swedish kronor.
