Brazil Court Requests Documents from X as Platform Begins Compliance with Orders – Reuters

BRASILIA (Reuters) – On Saturday, the Brazilian Supreme Court requested that the social platform X, owned by Elon Musk, submit documents confirming its new legal representative in Brazil. The company’s lawyers have indicated that they will comply with the court’s requirements to resume operations in the country.

X was suspended in Brazil in late August due to its failure to adhere to court orders pertaining to the moderation of hate speech on the platform. However, in recent days, representatives from X have begun to express their willingness to meet the court’s stipulations, despite earlier statements that it would not comply.

On Friday, X’s legal team announced that the platform has appointed a new legal representative in Brazil, which addresses one of the court’s key demands. In a ruling on Saturday, Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes granted X five days to provide commercial registrations and other documentation proving that Rachel de Oliveira Conceicao has been formally designated as the company’s legal representative in Brazil.

Brazilian law mandates that foreign companies must have a local legal representative to operate within the country, taking on the legal responsibilities for the firm.

Until mid-August, X had a legal representative in Brazil but subsequently decided to shut down its offices and lay off its staff. This decision followed a prolonged disagreement between Musk and Moraes regarding the company’s non-compliance with court orders aimed at reducing hate speech on the platform—a point Musk criticized as censorship.

In addition to appointing a legal representative, the Supreme Court has also required X to block specific accounts implicated in a hate speech and misinformation investigation, as well as to pay fines exceeding $3 million as conditions for lifting the ban.

Initially, X asserted it would not comply with what it described as "illegal" orders. However, the company’s lawyers have since stated that X will fulfill its financial obligations and has begun to block the accounts as mandated.

Details regarding the specific accounts that X has been ordered to block have not been disclosed as the investigation remains confidential.

Despite the ongoing ban, many users in Brazil gained temporary access to X on Wednesday following an update that circumvented the court-imposed restrictions.