Eagles fans should expect to not have access to X in Brazil after country upholds nationwide block

This story originally appeared on 6abc.

Philadelphia Eagles fans who are traveling to Brazil for Friday’s Week 1 NFL game against the Green Bay Packers should expect to not have access to Elon Musk’s social media platform X while abroad.

A Brazilian Supreme Court panel has upheld the decision of one of its justices to block X nationwide, according to the court’s website.

The broader support among justices deals a blow to Musk and his supporters who have sought to characterize Justice Alexandre de Moraes as a renegade and authoritarian censor of political speech.

The panel is comprised of five of the full bench’s 11 justices, including de Moraes, who last Friday ordered the platform blocked for having failed to name a local legal representative, as required by law. X will remain blocked until it complies with his orders and pays outstanding fines that as of last week exceeded $3 million, according to his decision.

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 Brazil’s bar association, which said it would request the Supreme Court review that provision.

But the majority of the panel on Monday upheld both the block and VPN fine – with one justice opposing the latter, unless users are shown to be using X to commit crimes.

The historic first-ever regular season game will take place on the Friday night of Week 1 in the city of Sao Paulo at the Corinthians Arena, home to Brazilian soccer team SC Corinthians, and is part of the 2024 International Games. The stadium was an official venue for both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games.

“This landmark first international game in South America demonstrates the ongoing expansion of our global footprint,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell previously said about the game. “Playing on Friday night of Week 1 is a unique way to highlight our international growth and ambitions.”

According to the NFL, this is the first Friday night game on opening weekend in over 50 years.

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

The Associated Press contributed to this post.