A radical decision to force the platform to comply with local law
Brazil’s Supreme Court is threatening to ban Twitter nationwide unless the platform appoints a legal representative in the country within 24 hours. Magistrate Alexandre de Moraes is behind the decision and is demanding that Twitter comply with Brazilian law, which requires a foreign company to have a legal representative in the country in order to operate there.
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The ruling follows Twitter’s refusal to maintain its legal representative in Brazil after the latter was threatened with arrest by Mr. de Moraes. The judge gave Twitter a 24-hour ultimatum to appoint a new representative, or face suspension of service until the order is complied with. Without a representative, Twitter would be unable to receive and temporarily comply with legal notices, which could pose a problem in the context of Brazil’s October municipal elections.
While a decision by a single judge may seem like an exaggeration, Brazilian law effectively allows any magistrate to enforce his or her decisions. In the past, individual judges have suspended services like WhatsApp or Telegram when those companies refused to cooperate with authorities. In the case of Twitter, if Mr. de Moraes’ order is not complied with, the telecommunications regulator would block access to Twitter’s site and servers in Brazil. The lack of an ex officio order could make the blockage effective in less than 12 hours.
