Photo Credit: Getty Images
Suspension of X in Brazil has been upheld after the Supreme Court judges voted in favor of upholding the ban. A majority of three out of five justices have already voted in favour of the measure, meaning the ban will stay in place even if the two remaining justices were to vote against it.
X has been suspended in Brazil since the early hours of Saturday after it failed to appoint a new legal representative in the country before a court-imposed deadline.
It is the culmination of a feud between Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and X's owner Elon Musk which began in April, when the judge ordered the suspension of dozens of accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation.
Justice Moraes had called for the five-member panel to rule on the suspension, which has caused division in Brazil. The panel - which includes Mr Moraes - had until midnight local time (03:00 GMT) to cast its votes. So far, Mr Moraes, Flávio Dino and Cristiano Zanin have cast their votes - all three in favour of upholding the ban.
Justice Dino argued that "freedom of expression is closely linked to a duty of responsibility".
"The first can't exist without the second, and vice-versa," he added.
Two more justices are still due to vote, but even if they were to vote "no", they would be in the minority and the suspension would remain in place for the time being.
Reacting to the decision to ban X, Mr Musk had earlier said: "Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes."
In his ruling, Justice Moraes gave companies, including Apple and Google, a five-day deadline to remove X from its app stores and block its use on iOS and Android devices.
Lewis Musonye
