On Friday, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes added new conditions for reestablishing Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, in the country. This came a day after X stated it had complied with all the judge’s previous demands, including appointing a legal representative in Brazil. However, de Moraes ruled that X would only be reinstated once another Musk-owned company, Starlink, a satellite-based internet provider, withdrew its appeals related to the case.
X has been blocked in Brazil for nearly a month after an ongoing dispute between Musk and de Moraes, centered around issues of free speech, far-right accounts, and misinformation. Earlier this month, de Moraes ordered that Starlink’s assets be used to cover fines imposed on X, which had already surpassed $3 million. He justified this by stating that the two companies belong to the same economic group, a claim that some legal experts have questioned.
In his latest ruling, de Moraes imposed a further fine of 10 million Brazilian reais ($1.84 million). Experts analyzing X’s IP addresses found that the company had briefly rerouted Brazilian users through Cloudflare servers, a content delivery network, effectively bringing X back online in Brazil. X explained that this was due to a server change meant to service clients in Latin America.
A source familiar with the ruling told The Associated Press that these conditions were newly imposed. De Moraes also accepted X’s designated legal representative in Brazil but fined her 300,000 reais ($55,000) for failing to comply with his earlier rulings from August. X’s lack of a legal representative in the country had triggered its suspension on August 30.
Musk and his supporters have accused de Moraes of authoritarianism and censorship, but the Supreme Court has upheld the justice’s decisions, including the nationwide suspension of X. On August 28, X removed all its remaining staff from Brazil after de Moraes reportedly threatened the company’s legal representative with arrest.
However, the company has shifted its stance in recent days. On Thursday, X submitted documentation stating it had complied with de Moraes’ rulings and requested reactivation in Brazil, one of its largest markets, with more than 20 million users.
In a statement, X reiterated its commitment to “protecting free speech within the boundaries of the law” and expressed respect for Brazil’s sovereignty. The company also emphasized the importance of access to X for a thriving democracy, pledging to defend freedom of expression through legal processes.
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