After more than three weeks of a blackout, X, formerly known as Twitter, appears to be moving towards complying with Brazil's Supreme Court directives to reinstate access to its 21 million users.
The ongoing dispute between billionaire CEO Elon Musk and Brazil's top court involves issues of disinformation and fines.
X Begins Complying with Brazil's Supreme Court Demands
On Friday, legal representatives for X informed the Brazilian Supreme Court that they had appointed new legal counsel. This is seen as a critical step towards restoring the social media platform in Brazil, which has been largely unavailable since early September.
Following the announcement, the court granted X an additional five days to submit the necessary paperwork to complete the formal process, according to CNN.
X briefly became accessible to Brazilian users on September 18, displaying a message that read, "Posts aren't loading right now." This brief return came after weeks of disruption, signaling a potential turning point in the company's willingness to collaborate with the Brazilian government.
On August 30, just hours before the nationwide ban took effect, the company shared politically charged accusations directed at Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who ordered the platform to suspend several accounts accused of spreading false information.
Musk himself has openly criticized de Moraes, calling him names such as "Brazil's Voldemort" and "dictator" on the platform. He even created a separate account aimed at exposing what he called de Moraes' "abuse of power."
To regain full access to the Brazilian market, X needs to complete its legal representation, pay a fine of around $1 million, and demonstrate that all accounts ordered to be blocked by the court have been removed.
The platform had initially resisted this, but recent actions suggest that it may now be aligning with court demands.
The order to block certain X accounts stems from a ruling made by de Moraes in May 2020. The accounts in question were accused of promoting hate speech and undermining Brazil's democratic institutions.
Many of these accounts were linked to supporters of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro himself has been banned from running for office for eight years after being accused of abusing his power. The former president is also under investigation for his possible role in the January 8, 2023, attack on Brazil's Congress, which some have likened to the US Capitol riots in 2021, according to Reuters.
Although X initially complied with the court's requests to block accounts, it later took a different stance. In April, X's Global Affairs account claimed that the court's orders violated due process, saying that waiting over a year for an appeal was unlawful.
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Elon Musk's Resistance Resulted to Financial Ramitification
Musk himself argued that his "principles matter more than profit," hinting at the platform's possible non-compliance in the future.
Musk's defiance has not come without financial consequences. The Brazilian Supreme Court has seized over $2 million from a Starlink bank account and $1.3 million from an X account to cover fines for non-compliance.
The fines were levied because X failed to suspend certain accounts, as required by court orders.
Last week, amid X's brief return, Bolsonaro expressed his support for Musk, stating that the court's restrictions were not just censorship but a violation of fundamental rights.
In a court order issued on Saturday, de Moraes acknowledged X's shift in approach but stated that the company must provide further documentation to prove compliance before it can be reinstated.
Meanwhile, alternative platforms like Bluesky and Meta's Threads have seen an uptick in users in Brazil during X's absence.
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