Brazil’s Supreme Court lifts suspension of X platform after legal settlement
X Logo. (Wikipedia Commons)
The Brazilian Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes has authorized social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to resume operations in the country after the company fulfilled its legal obligations, including paying significant fines. The ruling on Tuesday marks the conclusion of a legal battle between billionaire Elon Musk’s company and the Brazilian government.
The platform had been suspended since Aug. 30 after failing to comply with a series of court-ordered measures, which included banning users accused of spreading disinformation and hate speech, particularly related to the contentious 2022 election of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
As part of the resolution, X paid 28.6 million Brazilian reais (approximately $5.16 million) in fines. The company was also required to ban the accounts of nine individuals under investigation for crimes against Brazilian democracy and appoint a legal representative within the country. These steps satisfied the court’s legal conditions, enabling the platform to operate once again in Brazil.
“I decree the end of the suspension and authorize the immediate resumption of the activities of X Brasil Internet Ltda within the national territory,” Moraes stated in his ruling. He further instructed the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to implement the decision, requiring a report back to the court within 24 hours.
The conflict between Musk’s X and Brazilian authorities has been rooted in the company’s alleged failure to address content flagged as harmful in the post-election period. Former President Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters had challenged the election of Lula da Silva, and the platform was accused of allowing the spread of disinformation that undermined the democratic process.
Musk, who acquired X in 2022, had voiced his discontent over Moraes’s actions. “Free speech is the bedrock of democracy, and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes,” Musk tweeted earlier.
