Elon Musk’s X expected to come back online in Brazil ahead of elections | Wilnesh News

X must pay a final fine before the Elon Musk-owned social network can come back online in Brazil, according to a Friday decision by Brazil’s top judge Alexandre de Moraes .

The platform was suspended nationwide in late August, a decision upheld by a panel of judges on September 2. .

as Brazil G1 Globo According to reports, Rachel de Oliveira, X’s legal representative in Brazil, was also required to pay a fine of R$300,000.

The case dates back to April, when Brazilian Supreme Court Federal Supreme Court (STF) Minister De Morais launched an investigation into Musk and X for allegedly obstructing justice.

Musk has vowed to defy a court order to close certain accounts in Brazil. He called the court’s actions “censorship” and blasted De Morais online, calling the judge “criminal” and encouraged the United States to end foreign aid to Brazil.

In mid-August, Musk closed X offices in Brazil. This leaves his company without legal representation in the country, which is a federal requirement for all tech platforms to do business in the country.

By August 28, the De Moraes court threatened to impose a ban and federal fines on X if Agents and more.

Earlier this month, the STF froze Musk’s business assets, including X operating in Brazil and satellite network company Starlink. The STF said in court documents that it considers Starlink parent company SpaceX and X to be companies working together as related parties.

Musk wrote A post on X at that time “Unless the Brazilian government returns illegally seized SpaceX property, we will also seek reciprocal seizure of government assets.”

As head of the STF, DeMorais has long supported federal regulations to curb hate speech and Network error message. His views have faced resistance from the country’s tech companies and far-right officials, as well as former President Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters.

Bolsonaro is under investigationSuspected of plotting a coup in Brazil after losing to incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the 2022 presidential election.

Musk has worked with and praised Bolsonaro for years despite his calls for retaliation against de Moraes and Lula. The former president of Brazil authorized SpaceX to provide commercial satellite network services in Brazil in 2022.

Musk claims to be a champion of free speech, but his track record shows otherwise. Under his administration, X removed content critical of the ruling party Türkiye and india At the insistence of the government. X agree More than 80% The number of government deletion requests will increase in 2023 compared with the same period last year, according to an analysis by the tech news website Rest of the world.

X faces increasing competition in Brazil from social apps such as Meta-owned Threads and Bluesky, which have attracted users during the pause.

Starlink also faces competition in Brazil from eSpace, a Franco-American company that this year received a license from the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to provide satellite internet services in the country.

Lukas Darien, a lawyer and law professor at Brazil’s Facex University Center, told CNBC that the STF’s enforcement action against X could change the way big tech companies view the court.

“The laws here have not changed,” Darien wrote in one message. “But specifically, big tech companies are now realizing that these laws will apply regardless of the size of the business and its influence in the country.”

Representatives for Musk and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

On Thursday evening, X Global Government Affairs released The following statement:

“X is committed to protecting freedom of expression within the law, and we recognize and respect the sovereignty of the countries in which we operate. We believe that the Brazilian people’s access to and due process of law.

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