Brazil | Lifting of X’s suspension after a long standoff with Musk

(Brasilia) Brazilians will once again be able to use the social network

“I order the lifting of the suspension and I authorize the immediate resumption of the activities of X on the national territory”, we can read in the judgment signed by judge Alexandre de Moraes.

Mr. Moraes authorized the reactivation of Elon Musk’s platform in Latin America’s largest country, considering that all legal requirements had been met.

Among these, the payment of fines totaling 28.6 million reais (approximately 7 million in Canadian dollars) and the deletion of accounts suspected of disseminating false information. The former Twitter also had to appoint a new legal representative in Brazil.

“X is proud to return to Brazil […] We will continue to defend freedom of expression, within the limits of the law, wherever we operate,” the platform said on its X account dedicated to global government affairs.

Mr. Moraes gave the telecommunications regulatory agency, Anatel, 24 hours to restore access to the platform used by 22 million Brazilians.

“Brazil is sovereign”

“Once we have received the instructions” from Anatel, (Abrint).

Elon Musk announced the closure of X’s Brazilian offices on August 17, while keeping the platform in service.

Judge Moraes suspended the network on August 30, finding that X had ignored orders to block accounts suspected of disinformation, mostly linked to the Brazilian far right, and belonging to bloggers, entrepreneurs, journalists or former parliamentarians.

Since the purchase of Twitter by Mr. Musk – who renamed it

Her detractors also accuse her of having become a spokesperson for the radical right.

“We showed the world that laws must be respected here, no matter who you are. Brazil is sovereign,” Communications Minister Juscelino Filho said in a statement released hours after the unblocking order.

Brazilian users, however, had access to the platform again on September 18, due to a technical maneuver which made it possible to circumvent the blockage.

X explained that this restoration of its service was an “unintentional” effect of a change of server.

But Judge Moraes refuted this argument and imposed new fines, finding that

The next day, the platform became inaccessible again in Brazil.

Since then, X has shown itself willing to fulfill the demands of the Supreme Court, burying the hatchet after several months of standoff between Elon Musk and Judge Moraes.

“Censorship”

The billionaire had repeatedly accused the magistrate of “censorship”, calling him a “dictator” and comparing him to Voldemort, a hostile character from the Harry Potter saga.

Judge Moraes has long been inflexible, believing that X constituted a threat to democracy and promoted disinformation.

A vision shared by left-wing Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

At the end of September, during his speech to the United Nations General Assembly, the latter affirmed that the State must “not allow itself to be intimidated by individuals, companies or digital platforms who believe themselves to be above the law” .

But his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022) continued to support Mr. Musk, crying “censorship”.

Brazil is an ultra-connected country, with more than one smartphone per capita.

After the suspension, some of X’s users turned to competitors, Threads or Bluesky, but these platforms had not managed to fully establish themselves as natural replacements for the old Twitter.