Elon Musk's X project in Brazil is temporarily halted by the country's highest court.

• On Friday, Brazil's supreme court ordered a nationwide suspension of Elon Musk's social network X, despite the company's earlier pledge to disregard court orders.
• On Wednesday, the court declared that Musk and X Corp. must appoint a legal representative for their business in Brazil within 24 hours or face the "penalty of suspension of activities."
• Alexandre de Moraes, Brazil's top judge, has urged daily fines for individuals and businesses using VPNs or other methods to access X, which is banned in the country.

On Friday, Brazil's supreme court ordered a nationwide suspension of Elon Musk's social network X after the company refused to comply with earlier court orders regarding content moderation and the appointment of a legal representative in Brazil.

Alexandre de Moraes, Brazil's top judge, has imposed daily fines on individuals and businesses that use VPNs or other methods to access X, according to G1 Globo.

On Friday, the Brazilian court issued a statement on its website, ordering the immediate and complete suspension of Twitter's operation in the country until the court's decisions are complied with and fines are paid. The order will remain in effect until a representative of the company is appointed.

On Wednesday, Brazil's supreme court gave Musk and X Corp. 24 hours to appoint a legal representative for their business in Brazil or face a "penalty of suspension of activities." The deadline passed on Thursday evening.

On Thursday evening, X stated that the de Moraes shutdown was imminent because the company refused to comply with his orders.

Brazil, a significant non-NATO ally of the U.S., is currently preparing for October municipal elections. According to Brazilian law, social media companies operating in the country must appoint someone to handle government takedown notices, including those related to political misinformation and incitement to violence.

Earlier this month, X announced that it would remove all its employees from Brazil rather than face any possible arrests over non-compliance with court orders, as it has no such representative in the country.

The suspension of X in Brazil could lead to significant business issues for Musk's struggling social network. With over 171 million active social media users, Brazil is a crucial market for social media platforms, as per research by Oosga.

In late 2022, Musk and his co-investors paid $44 billion to acquire Twitter, which he later implemented sweeping changes to and reinstated previously banned and suspended accounts. However, many major advertisers fled or opted to spend far less on campaigns there than they did in prior years.

Recently, the World Bank ceased funding for campaigns on X following a CBS News investigation that uncovered ads from the organization being displayed under a racist post from an X account that frequently shared "pro-Nazi and white nationalist content."

This year, Fidelity, a major X investor, disclosed in financial statements that it believes the company's value has decreased by over 70% since the acquisition.

In response to the court's decision to freeze the finances of Starlink in Brazil, Musk posted a series of angry messages on social media.

On Friday, Musk likened de Moraes to the Harry Potter villain Voldemort in his social media posts.

This story is developing. Please check back for updates.