Elon Musk's X ban: Brazil's Supreme Court to vote

Brazil's Supreme Court is set to vote on Monday on whether to uphold a ruling that bans the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter.

The vote was called by Justice Alexandre Moraes after the platform was suspended in the country early Saturday morning.

The suspension followed X's failure to appoint a new legal representative in Brazil by the court-imposed deadline.

A dispute between Justice Moraes and X's owner, Elon Musk, began in April when the judge ordered the suspension of numerous accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation.

Brazil's Supreme Court consists of 11 justices, divided into two chambers of five members each, excluding the chief justice. These chambers can vote to uphold or overturn rulings made by any of its judges.

Justice Moraes belongs to the first chamber, which will review his decision to ban X.

Responding to the ban, Mr. Musk said: "Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes."

In his ruling, Justice Moraes gave companies, including Apple and Google, five days to remove X from their app stores and block its use on iOS and Android devices.

He also stated that individuals or businesses found using X through virtual private networks (VPNs) could face fines of R$50,000 ($8,910; £6,780).

X closed its office in Brazil last month, claiming its representative had been threatened with arrest for not complying with what the company described as "censorship," which it argued was illegal under Brazilian law.

Justice Moraes had ordered the blocking of X accounts accused of spreading disinformation, many of which were linked to supporters of former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro, while they are under investigation.

Brazil is considered one of the largest markets for Mr. Musk's social media platform.