Brasilia: Brazil’s Supreme Court stated on Friday that social platform X must settle over $5 million in pending fines, including an additional new fine, before it can resume its operations in the country, as detailed in a court document. Earlier this week, the Elon Musk-owned U.S. company informed the court that it had complied with directives to curb the spread of misinformation and requested the lifting of a ban on the platform.
However, Judge Alexandre de Moraes responded on Friday with a ruling indicating that X and its legal representative in Brazil are still required to pay a total of 18.3 million reais ($3.4 million) in previously ordered fines. In his decision, the judge noted that the court could utilize resources already frozen from X and Starlink accounts in Brazil. To do this, the satellite company, also owned by Musk, must first withdraw its pending appeal against the funds’ blockage.
Additionally, the judge imposed a new fine of 10 million reais ($1.8 million) concerning a brief period last week when X became accessible again to some users in Brazil. X, formerly known as Twitter, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to a source close to X, the tech firm is likely to pay all fines but may consider challenging the additional 10 million reais fine levied by the court following the platform’s ban.
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X has been suspended since late August in Brazil, one of its largest and most coveted markets, after Moraes ruled that it had failed to comply with orders related to restricting hate speech and appointing a local legal representative. Musk, who denounced the orders as censorship and labeled Moraes a “dictator,” began to shift his stance last week when X’s legal team indicated that the platform had appointed a local representative and would adhere to court rulings.
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In Friday’s decision, Moraes acknowledged that X had demonstrated compliance by blocking accounts as mandated by the court and had also appointed the necessary legal representative in Brazil.
