Rio De Janeiro: Brazil has lifted its bans on Elon Musk’s X and Starlink after the companies paid fines totaling 18.35 million reais ($3.31 million) to Brazilian authorities on Friday, September 13.
The bans were removed following an order by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The restrictions were initially imposed after a legal dispute between the American billionaire and Brazil’s highest court.
The ban on X, Musk’s popular social media platform, was enacted last month. In addition, Justice Moraes had set a $9,000 daily fine for anyone attempting to bypass the ban using a virtual private network (VPN).
Popularity of X in Brazil
Despite the legal confrontation, X remains one of the most widely used social media platforms in Brazil, with more than 22 million active users. Comparatively, only a fraction of that number engages with other platforms—about one-sixth on Instagram and even fewer on Facebook or TikTok.
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The Dispute Between X and Moraes
The conflict between Musk’s company and Justice Moraes began last month when X revealed that its Brazilian representative had been threatened with legal action if the platform failed to comply with judicial orders to remove certain content.
“Moraes has chosen to threaten our staff in Brazil rather than respect the law or due process,” X’s Global Government Affairs account stated.
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The platform further added, “As a result, to protect the safety of our staff, we have made the decision to close our operation in Brazil, effective immediately.”
Earlier this year, Moraes had ordered X to take down accounts accused of disseminating fake news and hateful rhetoric during the tenure of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Musk criticized this directive, calling it “unconstitutional,” and proceeded to unblock the previously banned accounts. Moraes responded by launching an inquiry into Musk’s actions.
