A top Brazilian Supreme Court justice ruled Tuesday that the social platform X can be restored in Brazil, more than a month after the high court suspended the site for failing to comply with court demands.
The ruling by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, made public Tuesday, caps off a months-long feud between de Moraes and X owner Elon Musk over the platform’s speech moderation, far-right accounts and misinformation.
Tensions between Musk and de Moraes escalated in August when X closed its office in Brazil after the judge ordered the platform to remove posts from the site. If X failed to comply, the judge said he would levy a daily fine of $3,650 and an arrest decree against its representative, Rachel de Oliveira Villa Nova Conceição.
Musk initially pushed back, calling the orders censorship and describing de Moraes as an “evil dictator cosplaying as a judge” in August. This eventually prompted the platform’s shutdown on Aug. 30.
Musk and X eventually fully complied with the demands and paid the fines, the Brazilian Supreme Court said Tuesday.
“The resumption of (X)’s activities on national territory was conditioned, solely, on full compliance with Brazilian laws and absolute observance of the Judiciary’s decisions, out of respect for national sovereignty,” de Moraes said in the court document, translated by The Associated Press.
A spokesperson for X Global Government Affairs said the platform is “proud” to return to Brazil.
“Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform was paramount throughout this entire process. We will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law, everywhere we operate,” the spokesperson wrote on X.
Brazil’s restoration of X reopens one of the platform’s biggest markets, which is estimated to have a user base of 20 million to 40 million, the AP reported.
Part of the requirements for X included naming a legal representative. Brazilian law mandates foreign companies must have a local legal representative to handle notifications and subsequent responses to court decisions, the news wire added.
Conceição was first named X’s legal representative in Brazil in April before resigning months later. A Sept. 20 filing with the São Paulo commercial registry shows she was renamed to the same role, but with a clause requiring her to follow Brazilian law and court decisions, the AP reported.
Musk previously challenged an order from de Moraes in April mandating the platform to block certain accounts in the country and vowed to reverse the restrictions. However, X ultimately said it would comply with the rulings.
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