Brazil lifts ban on Elon Musk’s X after company pays millions of dollars in fines

Elon Musk’s X platform was restricted due to a dispute over disinformation, but the Brazilian Supreme Court has now lifted the restriction on the social media platform, reported Al Jazeera on Wednesday.

“I authorise the immediate return of the activities” of X, Judge Alexandre de Moraes said in his ruling, after the company paid millions of dollars in fines for failing to comply with a series of court orders.

Judge de Moraes offered the Brazilian communications authority a 24-hour window to restore platform accessibility.

The richest man in the world and self-described “free speech absolutist,” Elon Musk, has however not yet responded to the ruling, reported Al Jazeera.

Previously, De Moraes took the contentious decision to outlaw X in Brazil when Elon Musk, the company’s billionaire owner, disobeyed court orders to take down accounts that were allegedly disseminating false information.

In addition, the social media network missed a legally mandated deadline to designate a legal representation in Brazil, reported Al Jazeera.

Musk is the owner of both Starlink and X, and Starlink personnel allegedly stated their internet service will not abide by the limitation at first following the court’s order on X.

Musk referred to de Moraes as an “evil dictator” after the court decided to shut X.

Musk also sympathised to those who supported Jair Bolsonaro, the erstwhile right-wing leader of Brazil, who disseminated unverified information on the October 2022 election, which he lost, Al Jazeera reported.

Bolsonaro’s followers eventually invaded the nation’s legislature on January 8, 2023, calling for a military coup to overturn his defeat.

Since then, Bolsonaro has been unable to hold public office until 2030, and similar to Musk, he and Justice de Moraes have clashed over investigations into his behaviour.