Brazilians will once again be able to use the social network On August 31, some 22 million users found themselves deprived of access to Elon Musk’s social network.
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“ I order the lifting of the suspension and I authorize the immediate resumption of the activities of X on the national territory », We can read in the judgment signed by judge Alexandre de Moraes, which gives 24 hours to the telecommunications regulatory agency, Anatel, to restore access to the platform used by 22 million Brazilians.
Alexandre de Moraes authorized the reactivation of Elon Musk’s platform in the largest country in Latin America, considering that all legal requirements had been met. Among these, the payment of fines totaling 28.6 million reais (around 4.8 million euros) and the deletion of accounts suspected of disseminating false information. The former Twitter also had to appoint a new legal representative in Brazil.
Elon Musk announced the closure of X’s Brazilian offices on August 17, while keeping the platform in service.
Judge Moraes suspended the network on August 30, finding that X had ignored orders to block accounts suspected of disinformation, mostly linked to the Brazilian far right, and belonging to bloggers, entrepreneurs, journalists or former parliamentarians.
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Brazilian users, however, had access to the platform again on September 18, due to a technical maneuver which made it possible to circumvent the blockage. X had explained that this restoration of his service was an effect “ involuntary » of a change of server.
But Judge Moraes refuted this argument and imposed new fines, finding that showed himself to be recalcitrant, illicitly, persistently and with the intention of not respecting judicial orders “. The next day, the platform became inaccessible again in Brazil.
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Since then, X has shown itself willing to fulfill the demands of the Supreme Court, burying the hatchet after several months of standoff between Elon Musk and Judge Moraes.
The billionaire had repeatedly accused the magistrate of “ censorship “, calling it the ” dictator » and comparing him to Voldemort, the villain of the Harry Potter saga.
Judge Moraes has long been inflexible, believing that X constituted a threat to democracy and favoring disinformation.
A vision shared by left-wing Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. At the end of September, during his speech before the United Nations General Assembly, the latter affirmed that the State should not “ not be intimidated by individuals, companies or digital platforms who believe they are above the law “.
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But his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022) continued to support Elon Musk, shouting “ censorship “.
Brazil is an ultra-connected country, with more than one smartphone per capita. After the suspension, some of X’s users turned to competitors, Threads or Bluesky, but these platforms had not managed to fully establish themselves as natural replacements for the old Twitter.