Elon Musk’s X was reinstated Tuesday in Brazil after more than a month-long ban, which a judge issued after the platform refused to block certain accounts the country argued were disseminating false information.
The platform, which has been suspended in Brazil since late August, was reinstated after complying with orders to remove certain accounts, paying fines and appointing a new legal representative in the country, The New York Times reported.
“X is proud to return to Brazil,” the company wrote in a post. “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.”
Brazil has allowed X back in Brazil. Some are celebrating this as a “free speech victory.”
Stop that. It’s the opposite: a victory for authoritarian state censors.
To get back, X was forced to comply with every demand, including banning all censored accounts and a huge fine. pic.twitter.com/6juDwDUtDp
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) October 9, 2024
The company also agreed to pay $5.1 million in fines, according to Axios.
“The company complied with the conditions stipulated by the rapporteur, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, and the platform may once again be used by Brazilians,” Brazil’s supreme court announced in a Tuesday statement.
Musk previously slammed Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who issued the order against X, as an “evil dictator cosplaying as a judge.” He shut down the platform’s offices in Brazil on Aug. 17 after de Moraes threatened to have its legal representative arrested.
“Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes,” Musk wrote in an Aug. 30 post on X.
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