A Brazilian Supreme Court panel on Monday unanimously upheld the decision of one of its justices to block billionaire Elon Musksa国际传媒檚 social media platform X nationwide, according to the courtsa国际传媒檚 website.

The broader support among justices undermines the effort by Musk and his supporters to cast Justice Alexandre de Moraes as an authoritarian renegade who is intent on censoring political speech in Brazil.

The panel that voted in a virtual session was comprised of five of the full benchsa国际传媒檚 11 justices, including de Moraes, who last Friday ordered the platform blocked for refusing to name a local legal representative, as required by law. It will stay suspended until it complies with his orders and pays outstanding fines that as of last week exceeded $3 million, according to his decision.

The platform has clashed with de Moraes over its reluctance to block users, and has alleged that de Moraes wants an in-country legal representative so that Brazilian authorities can exert leverage over the company by having someone to arrest.

De Moraes also set a daily fine of 50,000 reais ($8,900) for people or companies using virtual private networks, or VPNs, to access X. Some legal experts questioned the grounds for that decision and how it would be enforced, including Brazilsa国际传媒檚 bar association, which said it would request the Supreme Court review that provision.

But the majority of the panel upheld the VPN fine sa国际传媒� with one justice opposing unless users are shown to be using X to commit crimes.

Brazil is one of the biggest markets for X, with tens of millions of users. Its block marked a dramatic escalation in a monthslong feud between Musk and de Moraes over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation.

Over the weekend, many X users in Brazil said they felt disconnected from the world and began migrating en masse to alternative platforms, like Bluesky and Threads.

And the suspension has proceeded to set up a showdown between de Moraes and Musksa国际传媒檚 satellite internet provider Starlink, which is refusing to enforce the justicesa国际传媒檚 decision.

sa国际传媒淗e violated the constitution of Brazil repeatedly and egregiously, after swearing an oath to protect it,sa国际传媒� Musk wrote in the hours before the vote, adding a flurry of insults and accusations in the wake of the panelsa国际传媒檚 vote. On Sunday, Musk announced the creation of an X account to publish the justicesa国际传媒檚 decisions that he said would show they violated Brazilian law.

But legal experts have said such claims donsa国际传媒檛 hold water, noting in particular that de Moraessa国际传媒� peers have repeatedly endorsed his rulings sa国际传媒� as they did on Monday. Although his actions are viewed by experts as legal, they have sparked some debate over whether one man has been afforded too much power, or if his rulings should have more transparency.

De Moraessa国际传媒� decision to quickly refer his order for panel approval served to obtain sa国际传媒渃ollective, more institutional support that attempts to depersonalize the decision,sa国际传媒� Conrado H眉bner, a constitutional law expert at the University of Sao Paulo, told The Associated Press.

It is standard for a justice to refer such cases to a five-justice panel, H眉bner said. In exceptional cases, the justice also could refer the case to the full bench for review. Had de Moraes done the latter, two justices who have questioned his decisions in the past sa国际传媒� and were appointed by former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro sa国际传媒� would have had the opportunity to object or hinder the votesa国际传媒檚 advance.

Xsa国际传媒檚 block already led de Moraes last week to freeze the Brazilian financial assets of Starlink as a means to force it to cover Xsa国际传媒檚 fines, reasoning that the two companies are part of the same economic group. The company says it has more than 250,000 clients in Brazil.

Legal experts have questioned the legal basis of that move, and Starlinksa国际传媒檚 law firm Veirano has told the AP it has appealed the freeze. It declined to comment further.

In a show of defiance, Starlink told the telecommunications regulator Anatel that it will not block X access until its financial accounts are unfrozen, Anatelsa国际传媒檚 press office said in an email to the AP. Starlink didnsa国际传媒檛 respond to a request for comment.

That means a shutdown of Starlink is likely, although enforcement will be difficult given the companysa国际传媒檚 satellites arensa国际传媒檛 inside national territory, said Luca Belli, coordinator of the Technology and Society Center at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. It is popular in Brazilsa国际传媒檚 expansive rural and forested areas.

Anatelsa国际传媒檚 President Carlos Baigorri told local media GloboNews late Sunday afternoon that he has relayed Starlinksa国际传媒檚 decision to Justice de Moraes.

Baigorri told GloboNews that the sa国际传媒渕aximum sanctionsa国际传媒� for a telecom company would be revocation of its license. He said if Starlink loses its license and continues providing service, it would be committing a crime. Anatel could seize equipment from Starlinksa国际传媒檚 23 ground stations in Brazil that ensure the quality of its internet service, he said.

sa国际传媒淚t is highly probable there is a political escalation,sa国际传媒� because Starlink is sa国际传媒渆xplicitly refusing to comply with orders, national laws,sa国际传媒� said Belli, who is also a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundationsa国际传媒檚 law school.

The arguments from Musk, a self-proclaimed sa国际传媒渇ree-speech absolutist,sa国际传媒� have found fertile ground with Brazilsa国际传媒檚 political right, who view de Moraessa国际传媒� actions as political persecution against Bolsonarosa国际传媒檚 supporters.

On Brazilian orders, X previously has shut down accounts including of lawmakers affiliated with Bolsonarosa国际传媒檚 right-wing party and far-right activists accused of undermining Brazilian democracy. Xsa国际传媒檚 lawyers in April sent a document to the Supreme Court, saying that since 2019 it had suspended or blocked 226 users.

Bolsonaro and his allies have cheered on Musk for defying de Moraes. Supporters rallied in April along Rio de Janeirosa国际传媒檚 Copacabana beach with a giant sign reading sa国际传媒淏razil Thanks Elon Musk.sa国际传媒�

Earlier that month, de Moraes ordered an investigation into Musk over the dissemination of defamatory fake news and another probe over possible obstruction, incitement and criminal organization.

Bolsonaro is also the target of a de Moraes probe over whether the former president had a role in inciting an attempted coup to overturn the results of the 2022 election that he lost.

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S谩 Pessoa reported from Sao Paulo.

David Biller And Gabriela S谩 Pessoa, The Associated Press