X was banned in August for violating a court order, but is now allowed to operate in Brazil again. X’s ban was lifted after he paid a $5.2 million fine and blocked the reported accounts. The platform said it would “continue to protect freedom of speech within the bounds of the law.” ”
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After a legal standoff with Brazil’s Supreme Court that began in August, X’s story in Brazil has come to an end.
The social media platform run by Elon Musk will resume operations in Brazil after being banned on August 31, the company said in a post on X on Wednesday.
Musk’s standoff with Brazil’s judiciary has led to Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordering X, formerly known as Twitter Inc., to block certain accounts associated with far-right groups and disinformation campaigns. It started with that.
Musk has refused to comply with the court’s request, claiming the order is censorship.
In August, Mr. de Moraes filed a lawsuit against Company X, citing Mr. Musk’s failure to comply with the country’s content moderation laws and his reluctance to appoint a legal representative to deal with government requests. ordered to completely cease operations.
In addition to suspending the platform, the court imposed a $5.2 million fine and ordered it to be paid before X resumes operations.
Mr. Musk launched a personal attack on Mr. de Moraes and refused to comply with the court order. Mr. de Moraes retaliated by freezing bank accounts associated with Starlink, another company owned by Mr. Musk, and threatened legal action against Company X’s local representatives.
The platform finally agreed to the fine on Friday. However, the return to Brazil was further delayed because the court said X had transferred the $5 million to the wrong bank. A representative for Company X told the court that the company had correctly paid the fine.
On Tuesday, X was cleared to return to operations. Reuters reported on Wednesday that the company had blocked the account Mr. de Moraes reported and appointed a legal representative to respond to any future government requests.
In an X post on Wednesday, the company said it would continue to protect free speech “within the confines of the law.”
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The country is key to X’s business and is the world’s sixth-largest market with more than 21.5 million users, Reuters reported in September.
“The move is pragmatic and likely driven by the economic impact of losing access for millions of users,” Matteo Cerbers, an analyst at research firm eMarketer, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. It’s something,” he said. eMarketer is owned by Axel Springer, the parent company of Business Insider.
Prior to the suspension in Brazil, X faced bans in several countries including China, where it has been banned since 2009 along with other Western social media platforms.
At the request of the Turkish government, X has agreed to censor certain accounts ahead of the 2023 Turkish presidential election. The company said at the time that the move was necessary to prevent the entire platform from being shut down in the country.
After Mr. Musk bought the company, Company X’s approval of government censorship and surveillance requests rose from 50% to 83%, according to an analysis by tech media outlet Rest of World published last year.
Company X did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside business hours.