– X takes a step towards lifting its ban
Social network X has appointed a legal representative in Brazil, a first step towards resuming service in the country, but its suspension will continue until it meets other conditions.
X has approximately 22 million users in Brazil.
AFP
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According to Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes, X has still “not duly fulfilled” all the conditions to end the ban, and he gave him five days to file additional documents.
The Supreme Court judge is engaged in a standoff with X’s owner, American billionaire Elon Musk, to combat disinformation in Brazil.
X’s suspension in August came after Musk refused to remove dozens of far-right accounts accused of spreading fake news and failed to appoint a new legal representative in the country as ordered. X has about 22 million users in Latin America’s largest country.
The judge also ordered X to pay a fine of at least 5 million reais (770,000 francs) for violating the suspension order on Thursday, when the platform became accessible again for a few hours, after a technical maneuver that circumvented the government blockade.
Disinformation vs. Censorship
X denied acting intentionally, saying it was the “unintentional and temporary” consequence of changing network providers. The social network was blocked again. For Judge Moraes, X deliberately engaged in “malicious, illicit and persistent” efforts to defy Brazilian justice.
Elon Musk called the latter an “evil dictator” or “Voldemort”, the villain of the “Harry Potter” series, while the magistrate insisted that X could not be allowed to spread disinformation that could endanger democracy.
The suspension was welcomed by the Brazilian left behind President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, while the right-wing opposition and former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro denounced it as censorship they considered unconstitutional.
The judge also froze the assets of X and Elon Musk’s satellite internet operator Starlink – which has been operating in Brazil since 2022, particularly in remote communities in the Amazon – to ensure payment of fines imposed on the social network for flouting court orders.
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