Previously in August, billionaire Elon Musk’s social network X was completely banned in this South American country.
In late August 2024, a Brazilian Supreme Court judge banned social network X in the country for violating online service rules. And now it appears that the Elon Musk -owned service is trying to bring X back by complying with the court’s ruling.
Musk’s X platform operates in Brazil with legal representation and a local compliance office . However, after a court ordered the closure of several far-right accounts for spreading misinformation, billionaire Elon Musk responded by closing the office and withdrawing representation. This led to the platform being blocked for failing to meet its legal obligations on time. In response, Brazilian authorities froze the bank accounts of the Starlink satellite provider and collected fines from them.
The New York Times reported that lawyers for the service filed court papers saying X would remove accounts linked to supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s far-right former president. The social network also agreed to pay a court-ordered fine and appoint a legal representative, which is required by law in the South American country.
Brazil is one of the biggest markets for social network X.
Brazil’s Supreme Court has confirmed that X filed the documents, though it added that the lawyers had failed to file them with the proper paperwork, so it has given Musk five days to complete the process. Still, if X is allowed to resume operations in Brazil, it would be a setback for Musk.
Previously, the billionaire owner of Tesla insulted Brazil’s supreme judge, writing on X that the judge was a dictator and a fraud, not a representative of justice.
Brazil is the largest country in South America, the fifth largest in the world by area and the seventh largest by population with over 212 million people. It is also a major market for social network X, which had an estimated 20 million accounts before it shut down in August. The shutdown of Elon Musk ‘s social network has made it easier for competitors like Bluesky.
