Brazil’s Top Court Imposes New Fine Before Allowing X to Resume Service

SAO PAULO/BRASILIA – Brazil’s Supreme Court announced on Friday that the social platform X, owned by Elon Musk, must settle outstanding fines exceeding $5 million, including a new penalty, before it can resume operations in the country, as stated in a court document.

Earlier in the week, the U.S. company informed the court that it had complied with orders aimed at curtailing the spread of misinformation and requested the lifting of its ban in Brazil.

However, Judge Alexandre de Moraes indicated on Friday that X and its legal representative in Brazil must still agree to pay a total of 18.3 million reais (approximately $3.4 million) in previously ordered fines.

In his ruling, the judge mentioned that the court could utilize resources already frozen in X and Starlink accounts in Brazil. However, to access those funds, the satellite company—also owned by Musk—would need to withdraw its pending appeal against the blockage.

Additionally, the judge imposed a new fine of 10 million reais (about $1.8 million) linked to a brief period last week during which X became accessible again to some users in Brazil.

X, formerly known as Twitter, did not immediately provide a comment regarding the decision. A source close to the matter indicated that the tech company is likely to pay all fines but may consider contesting the additional 10 million reais imposed by the court following the platform’s temporary ban.

X has been suspended in Brazil since late August, a significant market for the platform, after the judge determined it had not met orders concerning the restriction of hate speech and had failed to appoint a local legal representative.

Musk, who previously criticized the orders as censorship and labeled the judge a “dictator,” began to soften his stance last week when X’s legal team announced that the platform had appointed a local representative and would comply with court requirements.

In Friday’s ruling, Judge Moraes acknowledged that X has now taken steps to block accounts as the court had ordered and has appointed a required legal representative in Brazil.