Brazil blocks Elon Musk's X platform - could other countries do it too?

Brazil has suspended access to Elon Musk’s X social network, formerly known as Twitter, after a long-running battle between X and a Brazilian judge, which began over hate speech and requests to block accounts that shared misinformation.

Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service has refused to comply with the ban, which came into force last week after X missed a court-imposed deadline on Thursday evening to name a legal representative in Brazil.

Musk has also called for the judge involved - Brazil’s Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes - to be impeached, after the ban cut off one of X’s biggest markets with tens of millions of users.

"They're shutting down the #1 source of truth in Brazil," Musk said in a post on X.

X's rival platform Bluesky has seen 500,000 sign-ups since X was blocked in the country.

Musk's controversial comments and online battles are not limited to Brazil, with the billionaire recently facing criticism for his comments over two-tier policing in the UK amid the widespread riots. So, could the UK or other territories move to ban the platform?

Why has Brazil cut off access to X?

Musk has been in a feud with Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes over free speech - with some arguments centring on far-right accounts including posters associated with Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro.

The feud centred on fake news and alleged hate speech, in particular over orders to suspend users for spreading disinformation.

Musk said, "Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes."

The block last week came due to X’s refusal to name a legal representative, which is required of all companies operating in Brazil. X has not had a representative since last month.

De Moraes wrote, “Elon Musk showed his total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty and, in particular, for the judiciary, setting himself up as a true supranational entity and immune to the laws of each country.”

The judge previously targeted similar measures against messaging app Telegram in 2022, which later appointed a legal representative and remained online.

Could it happen elsewhere?

So far, countries that have banned X/Twitter have tended to be authoritarian - with bans in place in Russia, North Korea, Pakistan and Iran.

In posts on X, Musk has suggested that Twitter and free speech might come under further attack in the US and beyond.

He wrote, ‘Freedom of speech is under massive attack around the world.’#

While unlikely to face a ban in the UK, the Online Safety Act (OSA) which comes into force in 2025 will see platforms like Twitter required to protect children from some content.

Musk is also facing conflict with the European Union over the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).

Multiple DSA investigations are targeting transparency on the platform and disinformation, and noncompliance with the DSA carries a potential fine of up to 6% of global turnover.

Following the civic unrest in the UK, during which misinformation was widely shared on the platform, Breton wrote, “As you know, formal proceedings are already ongoing against X under the DSA, notably in areas linked to the dissemination of illegal content and the effectiveness of the measures taken to combat disinformation.

“As the relevant content is accessible to EU users and being amplified also in our jurisdiction, we cannot exclude potential spillovers in the EU. Therefore, we are monitoring the potential risks in the EU associated with the dissemination of content that may incite violence, hate and racism in conjunction with major political or societal events around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections.”