Last Friday, X was shut down in Brazil. The platform has been removed from Apple's and Google's app stores, and anyone trying to use a VPN to access the service risks fines of approximately 100,000 kronor.
The background is a long-standing dispute over the content on X and which representatives from the company are available in Brazil. The decision was made by the controversial Alexandre de Moraes, chairman of the country's constitutional court. He has previously threatened to imprison X representatives if they do not comply with the country's laws. This comes after several months of dispute over the content on the platform, where de Moraes claims that X spreads extremism, hate speech, and anti-democratic content.
Described as power-hungry
Alexandre de Moraes, 55, is a former justice minister in Brazil and has previously blocked the messaging service Telegram in the country. Critics argue that he is power-hungry and bends legal corners in his fight to "defend democracy" and that his ultimate goal is the presidency. His supporters praise his tough stance against the far-right.
The President of the Supreme Court, Luis Roberto Barroso, commented on the platform dispute on Sunday:
A company that refuses to appoint a legal representative in Brazil cannot operate within Brazil.
Elon Musk, 53, has not appointed a legal representative to the country after the prison threats. He believes that the shutdown is an attack on the Brazilian people.
Competitors increase
"He (de Moraes) should be brought to justice for breaking the oath he swore", Musk writes, among other things, on X.
Some users in Brazil seem to have already chosen alternatives to X. According to competitors Bluesky and Mastodon, the increase in new users over the past few days has been almost avalanche-like.
Last Friday, Bluesky wrote that they had received 500,000 new users over the past two days, although not exclusively from Brazil.
Mastodon tells tech site The Verge that they have gone from "usually 0 to 3,550" new users in Brazil on Saturday.
