X, previously known as Twitter, may soon be allowed to operate again in Brazil, but only if it pays an additional fine of 10 million reais (about $1.9 million).
This decision comes from Brazil’s Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who said the platform could “immediately return” if the fine is paid. This fine adds to an earlier penalty of 18.35 million reais ($3.4 million) that X had already been charged.
X’s troubles in Brazil began when it failed to block certain accounts that Moraes claimed were spreading election misinformation. Elon Musk, who owns X, refused to comply, saying the orders were censorship. Instead, the company shut down its operations in Brazil, leading to a country-wide ban on the platform in late August. To enforce the fines, Brazil froze accounts belonging to both X and Musk’s satellite company, Starlink, and imposed daily fines on VPN access to the platform.
In early September, however, X appeared to have resumed operations despite the ban. This occurred after a switch in its infrastructure to Cloudflare, which seemed to restore access unintentionally. Moraes accused X of twice attempting to bypass the ban on September 19 and September 23 and issued the additional fine.
X Now Complying with Brazilian Law
Despite earlier resistance, X has now taken steps to comply with Brazilian law. It has blocked the accounts flagged by the court, paid the previous fines, and appointed a legal representative in the country. This marks a change from Musk’s initial defiance, which included calling for Moraes to resign. X’s Global Government Affairs account acknowledged the situation, stating that the platform respects the laws of the countries in which it operates and that access for Brazilian users is crucial to democracy.
Moraes has now stated that once the new fine is paid, X can fully return to service in Brazil.
Featured Image courtesy of Ueslei Marcelino/REUTERS
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