Brazil’s Supreme Court announced on Wednesday, October 9, that it was lifting the ban on Elon Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly Twitter) after the company complied with court orders and paid millions in fines.
The platform had been blocked for over a month in Brazil, X’s largest Latin American market, due to a dispute over disinformation.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who had been at the center of the conflict, authorized the immediate restoration of X’s services in the country. He also ordered Brazil’s communications regulator to ensure the platform was accessible again within 24 hours to its millions of users.
The standoff between Moraes and Musk erupted over allegations that X allowed a flood of disinformation during Brazil’s 2022 election campaign. Tensions escalated in August when Moraes blocked the platform for failing to remove dozens of right-wing accounts accused of spreading false information and for not appointing a new legal representative in Brazil.
Musk had harshly criticized Moraes, calling him an “evil dictator,” but X ultimately complied with all of the judge’s demands, including paying around $5.2 million in fines.
The row, seen as a significant battle between freedom of expression and corporate responsibility, was closely followed worldwide. With the suspension now lifted, X is once again operational in Brazil.
