2 weeks Ago By Firstpost
In a bid to keep functioning in Brazil, billionaire Elon Musk-owned X has finally named its legal representative in the South American nation. The social media platform confirmed the news on Friday. The move addressed one of the demands imposed by Brazil’s top court to allow the tech giant to continue operating in the country.
Andre Zonaro and Sergio Rosenthal who are the lawyers of X told Reuters that their colleague Rachel de Oliveira Conceicao was chosen as the firm’s legal representative in the country. Conceicao’s name was submitted to the Brazilian Supreme Court on Friday. The announcement came weeks after the court ordered the suspension of the social media platform in Brazil after the firm missed the deadline to present a lawyer.
This eventually left millions of X users in Brazil unable to use their accounts. What is the case about? Brazilian law requires foreign companies to name a legal representative who will be operating in the country. This representative would assume legal responsibilities for the firm locally.
X had a legal representative in Brazil until mid-August when it decided to close its offices in the country. However, weeks later Brazil’s top court ordered mobile and internet service providers to block X in the nation. It is pertinent to note that the order followed a months-long dispute between Musk and Brazilian Justice Alexandre de Moraes over the firm’s non-compliance with court orders.
The tussle between Brazil and Musk started after the country urged the platform to take action against the spread of hate speech. Not only did the firm not comply with the order, Musk started calling Judge Moraes different names, including referring to him as “dictator”. In the past, the court has blocked accounts implicated in probes of spreading misinformation and hate, which Musk has denounced as censorship.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, lawyers representing X in Brazil said the firm was starting to comply with orders on removing content and another demand from the top court. With inputs from Reuters..
