Social media platform X has appointed a legal representative in Brazil – a primary step towards having the ability to resume its service within the country. However, the platform will remain blocked until it meets further requirements, a judge ruled.
Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes said in a ruling published on Saturday that X had still not “properly met” all the necessities for the ban to be lifted. He gave the corporate five days to submit further documentation.
The outstanding judge is engaged in a long-running feud with X’s owner, billionaire Elon Musk, as a part of his efforts to crack down on disinformation in Brazil.
His suspension from X last month got here after Musk refused to delete dozens of right-wing accounts accused of spreading fake news and subsequently didn’t appoint a brand new legal representative within the country as ordered.
The conflict between the Brazilian court and the iconoclastic billionaire has developed right into a high-stakes dispute that may test the boundaries of each free speech and company responsibility in South America’s largest country.
Before the ban, the social media platform had greater than 22 million users in Brazil.
Moraes also fined X no less than five million reais ($913,000) for violating Thursday’s blocking order, when the platform became accessible again following a technical maneuver that effectively circumvented the federal government blockade.
X denied intentionally violating the ban, saying it was the “unintentional and temporary” results of a change in network provider. It later went offline again.
But Moraes said X had intentionally and “maliciously” participated in “illegal and persistent” attempts to disregard Brazilian justice.
As the duel continued, Musk accused Moraes of being an “evil dictator,” while the judge insisted that X shouldn’t be allowed to spread misinformation that might endanger democracy.
The suspension was met with widespread support from Brazil’s political left around President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, while the right-wing opposition and former President Jair Bolsonaro condemned it as unconstitutional censorship.
Moraes also froze the assets of X and Musk’s satellite web operator Starlink – which has been operating in Brazil since 2022, particularly in distant communities within the Amazon – to make sure payment of fines imposed on the social network for violating court orders.
Musk repeatedly attacked Moraes in social media posts, calling him an “evil dictator” and nicknamed him “Voldemort,” after the villain from the “Harry Potter” series.
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