Photo source: CNN
X (previously known as Twitter) is on the verge of potentially resuming its operations in Brazil, but only after paying an additional fine.
Reports from Reuters and other outlets indicate that Brazil’s Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes has stated that the platform could “immediately return to its activities in national territory” if it pays a fine of 10 million reais (approximately NZD $2.9 million).
The additional fine comes on top of an existing penalty of 18.3 million reais (approximately NZD $5.3 million) that X had already incurred. To facilitate this process, Brazil had previously frozen accounts belonging to both X and Musk’s satellite internet service, Starlink.
However, Moraes has indicated that Starlink must withdraw its appeal against these payments for any progress to occur.
Throughout much of this year, X has been embroiled in legal disputes due to Moraes’ efforts to block certain accounts accused of disseminating election misinformation. Musk has criticised Moraes, stating that he “should resign or be impeached.” Following a ban imposed at the end of August, X ceased operations in Brazil.
The prohibition led to a surge in popularity for competing platforms, such as Bluesky. Recently, however, X appeared to shift its stance by agreeing to block the specified accounts, pay the necessary fines, and appoint a legal representative in Brazil.
Moraes is now demanding this additional fine after X seemingly bypassed the ban earlier this month by switching to Cloudflare infrastructure.
In a post on Thursday, X’s Global Government Affairs account acknowledged its compliance with local laws, stating, “We recognize and respect the sovereignty of the countries in which we operate,” and emphasised that access for Brazilian users is “essential to a thriving democracy.”
