Brazil lifts ban on X after Elon Musk complies with court demands
In an exclusive interview, we explore the unfolding situation regarding the social media platform X in Brazil, which has become a hot topic due to owner Elon Musk’s failure to adhere to legal standards.
After nearly six weeks of being banned, Brazilians are poised to regain access to X, following a Supreme Court judge’s recent ruling to lift the ban. This decision was made after Musk finally met local legal requirements, appointing a Brazilian lawyer as the platform’s representative and paying significant fines.
The ban, which impacted over 22 million users, was enacted in late August and highlighted a rocky relationship between Musk and Brazil’s highest court. The immediate trigger for this legal action stemmed from Musk’s unwillingness to comply with judicial obligations, part of a broader court initiative aimed at combating the spread of far-right misinformation and anti-democratic content on X.
Political analysts are raising alarms about the incendiary material proliferating on the platform, which they argue contributed to the far-right riots in Brasília in January 2023. Musk’s associations with controversial figures, including former President Jair Bolsonaro, have further enflamed tensions. His response to the ban was particularly provocative, referring to Judge Alexandre de Moraes as a dictator and mocking him with derogatory memes.
In a surprising turn of events, Musk has recently shifted his stance. After settling fines totaling 28.6 million reais (around £3.9 million) and naming a local representative, Moraes announced that the suspension would end, permitting X to operate again in Brazil. While X remained inaccessible at the time of the announcement, full access is expected to be restored soon.
Brazilian commentators are viewing this as a positive outcome for democracy and the legal framework, with political analyst Gerson Camarotti stating, “The ban wasn’t censorship; it was about non-compliance with judicial decisions. Brazilian democracy benefits from this.”
Interestingly, life in Brazil remained largely unaffected during the ban, with many users migrating to rival platform Bluesky. “Nobody in Brazil died because of the absence of X,” Camarotti remarked, criticizing Musk’s platform for becoming “the network of hatred.”
Additionally, the activist group Sleeping Giants celebrated what they labeled a major victory for Brazilian democracy. They emphasized that the suspension was crucial to ensure compliance with Brazilian laws by all companies, particularly regarding the protection of human rights and the maintenance of democratic institutions.
In their statement, Sleeping Giants made it clear that the Supreme Federal Court’s actions were not an attempt to restrict free speech, but a necessary response to X’s repeated disregard for judicial directives.
