For all of his bravado, Elon Musk quickly surrendered his fight with Brazil over its nationwide ban of X. Here is what you need to know…
Elon Musk fight with Brazil over X ban : A quick primer!
The brouhaha between Elon Musk and Brazil started when Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered X to remove over 100 accounts that were allegedly spreading misinformation and questioning the legitimacy of President Jair Bolsonaro’s 2022 election victory.
Musk, who has often claimed to be a staunch advocacy of free speech, publicly opposed these directives, labeling them an infringement on individual rights. His vocal criticisms of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes escalated the situation, leading to heightened scrutiny of X’s operations in Brazil.
In a surprising move, Musk chose to close X offices in Brazil in mid-August, leaving the platform without a legal representative in the country — an essential requirement for operating legally. This led to Justice Moraes ordering internet and mobile service providers in Brazil to block access to X, a significant blow to the platform’s user base in the region.
Elon Musk also publicly mocked Justice Moraes, claiming that the judge has “repeatedly broken the laws he has sworn to uphold“, while sharing a post celebrating X as the top news app on Apple’s App Store in Brazil, stating, “People want to know the truth.”
Last week, X mysteriously reappeared in Brazil after a software update that it claimed resulted in an “inadvertent and temporary service restoration to Brazilian users”. But Justice Moraes called it “wilful, illegal and persistent”, and levied a R$5 million fine (~US$921,000) on X, adding to R$18.3 million (~US$3.37 million) fine that had already been imposed.
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Elon Musk surrenders to Brazil over X ban!
In a surprising twist – after three weeks defying Brazil’s court orders, it appears that Elon Musk has given up his fight.
X – the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has agreed to comply with Brazilian court orders to restore access. This compliance included appointing a legal representative in Brazil and removing the user accounts that the court deemed threats to democracy. X also paid outstanding fines, amounting to millions of reais, as part of the resolution.
Despite this apparent victory for Brazilian authorities, the Supreme Court highlighted that X had not filed the necessary documentation confirming the appointment of Rachel de Oliveira Conceicao as its legal representative. The court granted X five days to provide the required paperwork validating her appointment.
Starlink – the satellite Internet service provider owned by Elon Musk, had also capitulated. It was also engaged in a dispute with Brazilian authorities over its refusal to enforce the ban on X. However, it said on 4 September that it would comply with the court orders.
Despite being extremely prolific and vocal on X, Elon Musk has been notably silent on X’s capitulation in Brazil. Neither has X released any statement on why it suddenly decided to comply with the court orders.
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