Blocking of Twitter in Brazil

Blocking of Twitter in Brazil
Blocking of Twitter in Brazil
Part of Censorship of Twitter
	Alexandre de Moraes (left), who initiated the blocking, and Elon Musk (right), owner of Twitter
Date	30 August 2024 - 8 October 2024 (1 month, 1 week and 1 day)
Caused by	Reinstatement of X accounts associated with the 2023 Brazilian Congress attack blocked by court order; Refusal by X to name a legal representative in Brazil;
Methods	Supreme Federal Court Ordering Brazilian ISPs to block access to X in the country; Freezing of Starlink assets; Fines toward X Corp.; Fines towards users bypassing the block through virtual private networks; X Corp. Closure of offices in Brazil (prior to blocking); Non-compliance;
Resulted in	Compliance by X Corp. with the Supreme Federal Court's orders; Lifting of block in Brazil;
Parties
Supreme Federal Court	X Corp.
Lead figures
	Justice Alexandre de Moraes Elon Musk
Casualties
Fined	X Corp.: $5.2 million

From 30 August 2024 to 8 October 2024, Brazil's Supreme Federal Court judge Alexandre de Moraes imposed a block of X (formerly Twitter) in Brazil. This occurred after the social network's chairman, Elon Musk, refused to appoint a legal representative in the country, which led Moraes to freeze Starlink's financial assets and impose fines for non-compliance. X began to be suspended at the start of the following day.

The decision followed an investigation by the Brazilian Supreme Court into Musk due to X reinstating accounts that were suspended under the terms of a court order. The Court reportedly ordered the removal of far-right accounts associated with the 2023 Brazilian Congress attack in Brasília. The investigation began in April 2024, after Musk stated that he would reinstate the accounts. After the platform settled $5.2 million in fines, appointed a legal representative in Brazil and complied with orders to deactivate accounts, the block was lifted on 8 October 2024.