Brazil's legal battle

On September 13, Judge Alexandre de Moraes of the Brazilian Supreme Court decided to transfer 18.35 million reals (more than 80 billion VND) from the frozen accounts of social network X and satellite internet company Starlink, both owned by Mr. Musk, to the national treasury to punish X for not complying with court orders.

Prolonged conflict

According to Al-Jazeera, the conflict between the two sides began in 2023, when the Brazilian Supreme Court ordered X (formerly known as Twitter) and other social media platforms to block accounts related to fake news and hate speech. Mr. Musk expressed concern, but X then complied. In April this year, Judge Moraes continued to order X to block many accounts spreading false information about the defeat of former President Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 election.

Mr Bolsonaro is accused of inciting riots in Brazil’s Congress on January 8, 2023, to prevent the inauguration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Mr Musk is a supporter of Mr Bolsonaro, in part because the former president approved Starlink’s operation in Brazil.

Image of Brazil's Supreme Court reflected on a smartphone screen with the logo of social network X

Mr. Musk refused Mr. Moraes's request and summoned X's legal representative in Brazil to protest, while by law, foreign companies in Brazil are required to have legal representation. Because X did not comply with the request by the August 30 deadline, Judge Moraes ordered internet service providers, including Starlink, to block access to the social network in Brazil and issued a fine of 50,000 reals per day for anyone using a virtual private network (VPN) to log in to X. A Supreme Court committee later upheld Mr. Moraes's decision, while the American billionaire asserted that Mr. Moraes's actions were illegal and the orders were issued without due process. The judge also froze the assets of X and Starlink as a measure to force the companies to pay the fine to X, on the grounds that the two companies "belong to the same economic group." Starlink has appealed the fine to X. Billionaire Elon Musk has also objected, claiming that the two companies are two completely different entities with different shareholders.

Mr. Trump promised to invite billionaire Elon Musk to take over the agency that evaluates the effectiveness of the US government .

X is still banned

On September 13, after withdrawing the full amount of the fine, Judge Moraes lifted the asset freeze on X and Starlink. However, he did not revoke the ban on X in Brazil because the company still lacks legal representation and has not removed the content as requested by the judge.

Billionaire Elon Musk and his companies have not commented on the judge’s latest moves. Starlink’s compliance with the X-blocking order to continue operating in Brazil has come as a relief to many users. The company recently announced it has more than 250,000 customers in the country, up from just 20,000 in February 2023.

Meanwhile, the ban is a heavy blow to X's operations because Brazil is the company's 6th largest market. CNBC cited a market report saying that X has 22 million users in Brazil, only 1/6 of Instagram and 1/5 of Facebook and TikTok. However, this platform is an important forum for discussions among politicians, journalists, scholars and celebrities. According to AFP, millions of Brazilians have switched to other social networks such as Threads or Bluesky since X was blocked.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cuoc-chien-phap-ly-brazil-elon-musk-tang-nhiet-18524091422120217.htm