Lula urges Musk to follow Brazil’s laws amid X shutdown threat

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva emphasised on Friday that Elon Musk must abide by the rulings of Brazil’s Supreme Court amid rising tensions that could see the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) shut down in the country. President Lula announced this after X failed to meet a court-imposed deadline to identify a legal representative in Brazil, a requirement under the country’s internet laws.

The dispute escalated when Musk labelled Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes a ‘dictator’ and accused President Lula of being the judge’s ‘lapdog.’ Lula responded by asserting that all foreign investors, regardless of wealth, are subject to Brazilian laws and the Constitution.

The potential shutdown of X could be enforced by ordering telecommunications companies to block the platform’s traffic. However, users could bypass the restriction using VPNs, allowing them to continue accessing the site.

In a related development, Brazil’s Supreme Court froze the local bank accounts of Musk’s satellite internet company, Starlink, reportedly due to the same issue of lacking a legal representative in the country. Musk responded by promising to keep providing Starlink’s services to remote areas of Brazil for free until the legal matter is resolved, stressing that many schools and hospitals depend on the service.

Despite the financial freeze, Musk also pledged continued support for the Brazilian military, which has warned that any disruption in Starlink’s services could negatively impact its operations.