The shutdown of Elon Musk’s platform started early Saturday, making it largely inaccessible on both the web and through mobile apps after the billionaire refused to name a legal representative to the country, missing a deadline imposed by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
De Moraes issued an order on Wednesday urging Musk to appoint the company's new legal representative for X in Brazil within 24 hours or face its suspension in Latin America's largest country.
The blockade marks an escalation in a monthslong feud between Musk and de Moraes over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation.
After banning the social network within its borders, one nugget in the New York Times' report about the story stands out: Anyone who tries to access X in Brazil using technical workarounds like VPNs will be fined substantially.