After nearly a month of being blocked in Brazil, Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has begun to comply with local regulations.
Local media reports indicate that X started suspending accounts accused of spreading misinformation on September 18, following an order from Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Alongside the account suspensions, X’s legal team announced plans to appoint a new legal representative in Brazil shortly.
Brazilian law mandates that social media platforms operating in the country must have a designated legal representative. Among the suspended accounts are those linked to digital influencer Allan dos Santos and journalist Paulo Figueiredo, both residing in the United States. In total, nine accounts have been shut down as part of this enforcement.
These suspended accounts are believed to be affiliated with supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and had previously faced bans on other social media platforms. Justice Moraes made these decisions as part of two ongoing investigations into the spread of misinformation.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Source: Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil
Musk has publicly criticized Moraes’ actions, labeling them as politically motivated censorship. He accused the judge of acting like a “dictator” by targeting political adversaries through what he describes as unlawful content moderation demands. Despite Musk’s claims, a panel of Brazilian supreme court justices upheld Moraes’ decision, maintaining the suspension of X and imposing fines.
The Brazilian government, under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has backed the judiciary’s efforts, asserting that combating misinformation is crucial, particularly in light of political turmoil reportedly fueled by false information.
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Service Restoration
On September 17, a technical glitch momentarily restored access to X in Brazil. This incident occurred during a transition to Cloudflare’s servers, which inadvertently allowed users to bypass the ban. A spokesperson from X’s Global Government Affairs confirmed that this access was only temporary.
According to Moraes’ ban on X, users in Brazil who attempt to access the platform using virtual private networks (VPNs) may face fines of $9,000 per day.
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