Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has announced extra requirements for Elon Musk's social media platform, X, to start working again in Brazil.
The news comes after X said it had followed all the previous orders, including hiring a local lawyer. The situation continues to develop as legal and government tensions remain high between the company and Brazil.
New Conditions for X's Return to Brazil
On Friday, Justice de Moraes stated that X could only go back online in Brazil once Starlink, Musk's satellite internet company, stopped its appeals related to the case. For almost a month, X has been blocked by de Moraes, who is worried about free speech, far-right content, and the spread of false information on the platform.
Earlier this month, he ordered Starlink's money to be used to pay fines on X, which have now grown to over $3 million.
The Brazilian court system has recently added a fine of 10 million Brazilian reais, about $1.84 million, on X. Investigators found that X had briefly sent users through servers of a company called Cloudflare, which raised questions about whether X was following local rules.
Despite the ongoing restrictions, X announced it had updated its servers to provide better service in Latin America, which allowed some users in Brazil to access the platform again for a short time.
According to sources close to the case, both conditions set by de Moraes are new to Brazilian law. Although X has hired a local lawyer, the judge also added a fine of 300,000 reais (about $55,000) for not following earlier orders given in August.
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Ongoing Tensions Between X and Brazilian Courts
The conflict between X and de Moraes has been going on since the start of the year, focusing on free speech and the spread of far-right ideas on the platform. Elon Musk and his supporters have accused de Moraes of censorship, while the judge's decisions have been backed by his colleagues.
The situation escalated on August 28 when X announced the immediate firing of all remaining employees in Brazil, following threats of arrest against the company's lawyer.
However, recent news shows that the company might be changing its approach. X provided proof to de Moraes, claiming it has followed all his orders and is asking to lift the ban.
Brazil is one of X's largest markets, with over 20 million users in a country of 213 million people. In a statement, X stressed its commitment to protecting free speech while following the law and respecting the countries it works in.
On Friday, the Supreme Court made it clear that X must pay over $5 million in unpaid fines before it can operate again in Brazil. This includes penalties related to its failure to stop the spread of false information.
In the same ruling, Judge de Moraes reiterated that X and its lawyer must deal with a total of 18.3 million reais (around $3.4 million) in fines that had already been set by the court, according to Reuters.
The judge said that frozen money from X and Starlink in Brazil could be used to pay these fines, but this depends on Starlink dropping its ongoing appeal about the blocked funds.
Sources indicate that the company plans to pay off all fines, although it might argue against the extra 10 million reais fine related to the short time of access last week.
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