A shaven-headed Brazilian judge nicknamed “Voldemort” has taken on X owner Elon Musk and shut down the social platform over allegations of misinformation.
Alexandre de Moraes’ X ban went into effect early Saturday morning, rendering the app largely inaccessible on both the web and the mobile app.
The Supreme Court judge ordered the nationwide shutdown after Musk refused to appoint a legal representative for the country, missing a deadline set by Moraes.
Moraes, 55, and Musk, 53, have been locked in a months-long dispute over freedom of speech, far-right accounts and disinformation. The new ban comes amid escalating tensions.
Internet providers across the country, home to 215 million people and one of X’s largest markets, blocked the platform completely yesterday, and the country’s major news sites stopped posting at the same time.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes has ordered an immediate ban on X in Brazil, which took effect early on Saturday
X owner Elon Musk called Moraes ‘Voldemort’ – and compared him to the evil ruler in the Harry Potter series
Musk was furious with X after the ban, saying: “The tyrant Voldemort is undermining the people’s right to free speech.” He compared Voldemort to the evil wizard from the Harry Potter series.
De Moraes said X would remain suspended until the site complied with his orders. He also imposed a daily fine of £6,790 on individuals or companies using virtual private networks (VPNs) to access the site.
The Brazilian Bar Association said in a statement on Friday that it will ask the Supreme Court to review the fines Moraes imposed on all citizens who use VPNs to access the platform.
“I have used VPNs extensively in authoritarian countries like China to maintain access to news sites and social networks,” Maurício Santoro, a political science professor at Rio de Janeiro State University, said on the platform before it was shut down.
“It never occurred to me that this kind of tool would be banned in Brazil. It’s dystopian.”
The battle between the two began to escalate earlier this year when Moraes demanded that users who posted clearly fake or inflammatory messages be blocked by X.
Moraes ordered the social media platform to block certain accounts involved in investigations into so-called “digital militias,” which are accused of spreading fake news and hate speech during the government of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro.
After Musk appealed the decision and said he would reactivate the accounts on X that the judge had blocked, Moraes launched an investigation into the billionaire in early April.
Ultimately, representatives of X reversed their position and told the Supreme Court that the social media giant would abide by the legal rulings.
The platform was suspended after Musk refused to appoint a legal representative for Brazil
However, in April, Moraes asked X to explain why the company had allegedly not fully complied with his decisions and imposed fines of $20,000 per day for each account X reactivated.
Lawyers representing X in Brazil told the Supreme Court that there were “operational errors” that allowed blocked users to remain active on the social media platform.
Since then, the legal battle between the two has become increasingly tense. Last Wednesday, Moraes warned Musk that X would be banned if the company did not inform the Supreme Court who its legal representative in Brazil was.
The platform refused to do this.
On Thursday, Moraes also froze the assets of Brazil’s Starlink Holding, which Musk also owns, to ensure court-imposed fines were paid, multiple Brazilian media reported.
Tesla’s CEO responded to X by saying that Moraes was “an outright criminal of the worst kind, posing as a judge.”
In a separate message, he called the judge a “tyrant” and “dictator of Brazil,” adding that President Lula da Silva was his “lapdog.”
Hours after the judge’s ruling, Musk said in an interview with X that Moraes “has repeatedly violated the laws he is sworn to uphold.”
Moraes, who rarely gives interviews and has avoided mentioning Musk or X by name in his most recent statements on the subject, said Friday: “We have the right to defend fundamental rights.
“Those who violate democracy, who violate fundamental human rights, whether in person or through social media, must be held accountable.”
