*

Justice orders Rumble to appoint legal representative in

Brazil

*

Court ordered an account blocked

*

Rumble, Trump Media ( DJT ) have sued Brazilian justice

BRASILIA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - U.S. video-sharing platform

Rumble might have its operations in Brazil suspended if

does not name a legal representative in the country, a Supreme

Court order showed, in a similar path to the one faced by Elon

Musk's X last year.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes in a February 19 decision made

public on Thursday ordered Rumble to appoint legal

representation within 48 hours under risk of immediate

suspension, the document showed.

The ruling comes as Rumble and U.S. President Donald Trump's

Trump Media & Technology Group ( DJT ) earlier this week sued

Moraes in Florida over accusations of illegal censorship, saying

his orders "censor legitimate political discourse in the U.S."

In his latest ruling, Moraes said he ordered Rumble on

February 9 to block the account of Allan dos Santos, a digital

influencer close to former President Jair Bolsonaro who faces

lawsuits in Brazil, and suspend the monetization of his profile.

Brazilian courts notified a lawyer at Moraes' request, but

the law firm later clarified it did not represent Rumble in the

country. Brazilian law requires foreign companies to have a

legal representative to operate there.

Musk's X was temporarily suspended in Brazil last year after

failing to name a local legal representative. Moraes was locked

in a months-long feud with Musk, who called the justice a

"dictator", but X ultimately complied with court rulings.

Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski referred to Moraes' rulings in a

post on X on Thursday, saying the platform "received illegal and

secret order from last night which demands us to comply by

tomorrow night."

"You have no authority on Rumble here in the USA, unless you

go through the U.S. government. I'll repeat - see you in court,"

Pavlovski told the justice.

Rumble in 2023 disabled access for users in Brazil citing

court orders to "remove certain creators," but went back online

this year saying Brazil had moved "to rescind their censorship

order" after Trump's election win.

In recent years, Moraes has issued many rulings blocking

social media accounts. He is now also weighing charges brought

earlier this week alleging former President Bolsonaro led a plot

to overthrow Brazil's government and undermine the country's

democracy after his 2022 election loss.

Moraes in January said tech firms must comply with local

laws to keep operating in Brazil, adding the top court would not

allow them to exploit the use of hate speech for profit.