X Reinstated After Elon Musk Complied with Court Orders in Brazil’s Fight Against Election Disinformation
Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is back online in Brazil after the country’s Supreme Court lifted a month-long suspension. The platform, which has 22 million users in its largest Latin American market, was banned due to non-compliance with court orders related to disinformation control.
The ruling, issued by Judge Alexandre de Moraes, followed X’s $5.2 million settlement and compliance with all the court’s demands. Moraes stated, “I authorize the immediate return of the activities” and ordered Brazil’s communication regulator to restore access within 24 hours.
The ban stemmed from X‘s failure to deactivate accounts spreading disinformation related to Brazil’s 2022 election and to appoint a legal representative in the country. The dispute had escalated, with Musk calling Moraes an “evil dictator” and comparing him to “Voldemort.” Moraes, however, argued that X had undermined democracy by allowing disinformation to spread unchecked.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva backed the court’s stance, emphasizing that digital platforms must follow the law. During the ban, many users, including Lula, shifted to alternatives like Threads and Bluesky, though neither gained the same traction as X.
Now that X has complied, it is poised to regain its dominant user base in Brazil.
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