Brazil's Supreme Court has ordered the "immediate and complete suspension" of Twitter in the country, the BBC reported Friday.
The court said in a statement that it would ban the social media platform until Elon Musk complies with all court orders and pays existing fines.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has been involved in a long-running feud with Musk over free speech, far-right accounts, and misinformation on Twitter, had given Musk only 24 hours to name a new legal representative or face suspension, with a deadline of Thursday evening.
The justice's order is based on Brazilian law requiring all foreign companies operating in the country to have legal representation. According to the Supreme Court’s press office, this ensures the government that someone can be notified of legal decisions and is qualified to take any requisite action.
Twitter hasn’t had a representative in the country since earlier this month, when Musk removed their previous one after she had been threatened with arrest by de Moraes.
Twitter is expected to be unavailable in the country within the next 24 hours.
Access to the platform must now be blocked "throughout the Brazilian territory," a source told Barron's to confirm breaking media reports citing the judge's ruling.
Musk has repeatedly tweeted about the Justice, calling him "an evil dictator" and "a criminal wearing judge's robes" for daring to expect him to replace his legal representative and pay some fines.
Musk stands to lose a sizable user base if he doesn't respond. Over 40 million Brazilians use Twitter on a daily basis.