Brazil block on social network X goes into effect joining other countries around the world [Video]

With its ban of X, which went into effect on Saturday, Brazil joins a small club of countries to have taken similar measures against the social network, most of them run by authoritarian regimes.

The suspension was ordered by a top Brazilian judge after Elon Musk refused to name a legal representative in the country. Justice Alexandre de Moraes and Musk had been feuding for months over allegations X engaged in obstruction, criminal organization and incitement, namely the decision said, supporting a network of people known as digital militias who allegedly spread defamatory fake news and threats against Supreme Court justices.

Market research group Emarketer says some 40 million Brazilians, roughly one-fifth of the population, access X at least once per month.

Other countries restrict X

Beyond permanent bans, some nations have temporarily restricted access to X, formerly Twitter, which has often been used by political dissidents to communicate.

These have included Egypt in 2011during the Arab Spring uprisings, Turkey in 2014 and …