Justice Alexandre de Moraes said that he authorized the “immediate return” of X/Twitter in Brazil after Elon Musk paid fines totaling 28 million reais ($5.1m) and agreed to appoint a local representative, as required by Brazilian law. Moraes also gave Brazil’s communications regulator 24 hours to make the platform accessible again to its millions of Brazilian users.
The App Returns To Brazil
The access to the platform, owned by Elon Musk, was blocked by Moraes after it had refused to ban profiles that spread misinformation about the 2022 Brazilian Presidential election.
According to BBC, Brazil is one of the biggest markets for the platform across the globe, as well as its largest in Latin America, with an estimated 22 million users.
Through a statement, X (formerly twitter) said it was “proud to return to Brazil. Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform was paramount throughout this entire process. We will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law, everywhere we operate.”
X is proud to return to Brazil. Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform was paramount throughout this entire process. We will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law, everywhere we operate.
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— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) October 8, 2024
Brazil vs Elon Musk
Musk, who purchased the platform in 2022 and rebranded it as X, positioned himself as a “champion of free speech”, often clashing with governments worldwide. However, in Brazil, the platform’s reluctance to block users and comply with court orders eventually led to its suspension. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, known for his aggressive stance against misinformation, ordered X’s suspension until it complied with Brazilian law.
The suspension of X in the country not only weakened its position in the market but has also ignited a broader debate about the role of social media in democracy and the power wielded by tech giants like Musk. As Justice Flávio Dino stated, “Public digital governance is essential in a domain where power is monopolized and concentrated in the hands of few businesses.”
The situation drew strong reactions, including Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva criticizing Musk’s stance, stating that the world should not have to accept his “far-right free-for-all just because he is rich.”
The news were rough: “The website will be taken down within 24 hours, and app stores have been ordered to remove the app within 5 days. Musk tried to play games, but the Brazilian Supreme Court wasn’t having it.”
“Brazilian legislators demanded that Twitter have a legal representative in Brazil, but Twitter refused, claiming censorship. People using VPNs could face fines of up to $8,874.” an user called “just444″ wrote.
On the other hand, so many accounts shared similar messages: ‘Unfortunately, “X” will be banned in Brazil, and since all our administrators are Brazilian, we won’t be able to continue our activities at this time. As celebrity fans, we’re very sad to have to close our account for a while. We’re grateful to everyone who follows and enjoys our content. Thank you, everyone, and see you soon. We’ll be on Bluesky and Instagram,’ a user shared on Instagram, saying goodbye to their followers.
Now, Brazilians are celebrating their return to the platform, and we’re not going to lie — they were definitely missed
