According to Cointelegraph, Brazil’s Supreme Court has threatened to suspend Elon Musk’s X social media platform if he does not appoint legal representation by August 29, 2024. This comes nearly two weeks after X claimed that Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes threatened his Brazilian legal representatives with arrest.

Company X announced that it would shut down its operations in Brazil on August 17, but the service would remain open to Brazilian users. Moraes’ order for Musk to appoint a representative came from the STF.

Earlier this year, Musk criticized Moraes for taking "illegal" steps to pressure him to censor the social media platform. Moraes claimed that X enabled and promoted "false information."

The main target of the censorship is reportedly supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who lost the 2022 election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and claimed the election was rigged. In early 2023, Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings, demanding the election results be overturned.

Brazil's Supreme Court and Moraes have blamed Bolsonaro for the unrest, leading the court to ban him from running until 2030. Moraes and Lula's supporters say they are defending democracy, while Bolsonaro's supporters say the government is corrupt and the country is deeply divided.

Government censorship of online platforms raises concerns. Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov's arrest in France sparks international criticism. French President Macron claims the arrest is not political. Durov was released on a €5 million bail and is required to report to law enforcement twice a week.