Elon Musk’s X Returns To Brazil After Ban Lifts; $5.1M Fine Paid
Elon Musk’s X has returned to Brazil after the ban on the social media platform was lifted.
The service had been suspended in the South American country after its billionaire owner Musk refused to name a legal representative in the country.
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The Brazilian telecoms agency Anatel has been ordered take begin resuming the platform’s service.
A statement from Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Federal Supreme Court said the site formerly known as Twitter had been authorized to resume its activities, though he emphasized that this was conditional on “full compliance” with Brazilian legislation and “absolute compliance with the decisions of the judiciary, in respect of national sovereignty.”
The statement noted X had on September 27 proved that it had blocked profiles that were deemed to be disseminating false information about the 2022 Brazilian election and had appointed a legal representative, a requirement of foreign countries operating in the country. Additionally, X had paid fines totalling 28 million reais ($5.1M).
X had initially refused to block the accounts, with self-described “free speech absolutist” Musk saying bans were an abuse of power and later closing X’s Brazil office.
X had been suspended in Brazil on August 30 after what Brazilian authorities had described as “repeated failures” to comply with STF decisions. X began to soften its stance towards the end of September.
In a statement posted to the site, X’s Global Government Affairs team wrote: “X is proud to return to Brazil. Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform was paramount throughout this entire process. We will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law, everywhere we operate.”
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