Brazil’s Supreme Court bans X: Why the escalated row rings familiar in India

The showdown between Elon Musk’s X and Brazil’s Supreme Court reached a tipping point on Saturday, August 31, with Justice Alexandre de Moreas placing a nationwide ban on the social media platform for failing to comply with the country’s laws.

In response to the ruling, Musk said, “Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes.” The ban on X was further upheld by the top court on Monday, September 2, even as the X mobile app and its web version became inaccessible to users in Brazil, who are now turning to alternative social media platforms such as Threads and Bluesky.