After paying fines of 28.6 million Brazilian reais, which is about $5.5 million, Elon Musk’s social media site X, which used to be called Twitter, is almost back online in Brazil. The payment is part of X’s plan to follow the rules set by the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court about spreading false information in the country.
On October 7, the company met one of the most important requirements for its return. This made it possible for the ban to be lifted. The court banned X at first in late August because it didn’t help with probes into the spread of false information. This move was made as part of a larger study into false information in Brazil, especially about the country’s election process.
There were a lot of problems with the final payment. At first, the money was sent to the wrong bank account. Musk’s satellite company Starlink fixed the problem in the end by putting the money properly.
The payment also included a fine of 10 million Brazilian reais, which is about $1.9 million. This fine was put in place because X briefly let users access the platform after switching to Cloudflare servers in September, even though it was supposed to be blocked.
X has paid the fine and done other things the court told them to do, like finding a new lawyer in Brazil and blocking the accounts of people they say are sharing false information and fake news. We think that these steps will make it easier for Brazilian users to get back on the site.
The final choice to lift the ban will be made by Brazil’s Attorney General, who will also suggest whether to bring X back or not. After receiving the suggestion, Justice Alexandre de Moraes will decide for sure if the platform can start running again in the country.
In Brazil, Justice Moraes has been looking into X since 2023 because it is thought to be helping spread false information. Elon Musk is also being looked into on a number of charges, such as obstructing justice and encouraging crime. Musk has spoken out against Moraes’ moves, calling them “politically motivated censorship” and saying that the judge is acting like a “dictator.”
If it is allowed to come back, X will start serving its 22 million users in Brazil again. This is one of its biggest markets in the world and the biggest in Latin America.
