Getty ImagesBrazil’s Supreme Court has upheld a ban on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Three-fifths of the justices have already voted in favor of the measure, meaning the ban will remain in effect even if the remaining two justices vote against it.
X has been suspended in Brazil since the early hours of Saturday after failing to meet a court-imposed deadline to appoint new Brazilian legal representatives.
It’s the culmination of a feud between Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and X owner Elon Musk that began in April when the judge Ordered the suspension of dozens of accounts suspected of spreading false information.
Judge Moraes’ call for a five-member panel to rule on the suspension has divided Brazil.
The group, which includes Mr Moraes, has until midnight local time (03:00 GMT) to vote.
So far, Mr Moraes, Flavio Dino and Cristiano Zanin have voted – all three in favor of maintaining the ban.
Judge Dino believes that “freedom of speech is closely related to responsibility and obligation.”
“There is no first without the second, and vice versa,” he added.
Two judges still need to vote, but even if they vote “no” they will be in the minority and their suspensions will remain in place for the time being.
In response to the decision to ban X, Musk had earlier said: “Free speech is the cornerstone of democracy, and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes.”
In his ruling, Judge Moraes gave companies including Apple and Google a five-day deadline to remove X from their app stores and block its use on iOS and Android devices.
He added that individuals or businesses found to still be accessed using virtual private network (VPN) may be fined R$50,000 ($8,910; £6,780).
X closed its offices in Brazil last month, saying its representative was threatened with arrest if she did not comply with its so-called “censorship” orders, which is illegal under Brazilian law.
Judge Moraes ordered that X accounts accused of spreading false information – many belonging to supporters of former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro – must be blocked while they are under investigation.
Brazil is said to be one of the largest markets for Musk’s social media network.
Since access to X was blocked, many Brazilians turned to the microblogging platform Bluesky as an alternative.
Bluesky announced on Saturday that it had registered 500,000 new users in the South American country in the first two days alone.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is among those who recommend his Blue Sky account to his followers. On Thursday, he tweeted links to social media accounts on platforms other than X.
Lula’s Bluesky profile topped the list, which also included links to his Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, TikTok and Facebook accounts.
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber expressed delight at the influx of new users, posting in Portuguese and English: “Well done, Brazil, you made the right choice.”
