Brazil’s Supreme Court has announced that it is lifting a ban on the social media network X, formerly known as Twitter.
In his judgement, Justice Alexandre de Moraes stated that he permitted the “immediate return” of X’s activity in the country after the company paid substantial fines and banned accounts accused of disseminating misinformation.
According to a statement, the site has paid fines of 28 million reais ($5.1 million; £3.8 million) and agreed to appoint a local agent in accordance with Brazilian legislation.
Moraes had barred access to the site, which is owned by Elon Musk, after it refused to deactivate many profiles identified by the government as disseminating misinformation about the 2022 Brazilian presidential election.
Anatel, the country’s telecoms authority, has been directed to ensure that service is restored to more than 20 million consumers in the country within 24 hours.
Musk fired the company’s Brazilian employees and closed X’s office in Brazil in late August, following months of disobeying court orders.
“The decision to close X offices in Brazil was difficult,” Musk, who also runs electric carmaker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX, wrote at the time.
The billionaire entrepreneur, a self-described “free-speech absolutist,” called Justice Moraes’ decision to ban several dozen accounts an abuse of power and a violation of free expression.
Several days later, Justice Moraes ruled that the entire platform be prohibited throughout the country.
Many customers went to alternative sites like Bluesky, and the demand for VPNs (virtual proxy networks) in the countryo skyrocketed.
However, in September, the platform appeared to reverse course and began to comply with the court’s directives.
On Tuesday, X said that it was “proud to return to Brazil.”.
“Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform was paramount throughout this entire process,” its government affairs team wrote in a statement.
It appears that X has finally met all of the judge’s requirements in order to get the ban lifted.
The South American country is one of the platform’s largest markets worldwide, as well as in Latin America, with an estimated 22 million users.
