Brazilian court orders Elon Musk to appoint Twitter legal rep in 24 hours or face suspension.
Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has directed Elon Musk to name a legal representative for Twitter in Brazil within 24 hours.
Failing this, an order to suspend the microblogging platform’s operations in the country would be carried out, according to a court document.
Earlier, Twitter had announced closing its Brazil office and letting go of local staff, citing “censorship orders” from Moraes. However, the service was to remain available for Brazilian users.
The Supreme Court shared screenshots of the latest ruling on its verified Twitter account, tagging Musk’s and Twitter’s Global Affairs handles. But Twitter did not immediately comment as it was outside work hours.
In the decision, Moraes noted that under Brazil’s internet legislation, non-compliance with local laws or breach of data privacy could lead to temporary suspension of activities by companies.
The directive came amid the ongoing tussle between Musk-led Twitter and authorities over moderation practices in line with the country’s laws and protection of users.
