X TO RESUME OPERATIONS IN BRAZIL AFTER PAYING $2M FINE
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Elon Musk’s social network, X, was suspended by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) in Brazil for a major infraction: it disobeyed Minister Alexandre de Moraes’ orders to block the accounts of those who were being investigated by the Brazilian legal system.
The long-running legal dispute between Musk’s company and the Brazilian government culminates in this suspension.
The platform was first placed on nationwide suspension at the end of August; on September 2, a panel of judges upheld this order.
Musk filed documents to notify the STF that X was now following the court’s directions, but X still had to pay a fresh fine of 10 million reals, or about $2 million, for the two more days that company disregarded the court’s directives.
Furthermore, 300,000 reals were penalized to X’s Brazilian attorney, Rachel de Oliveira.
The case began in April when Minister de Moraes opened an investigation into Musk and X for possible justice-obstruction.
Musk openly criticized de Moraes and called it censorship when he disobeyed the court’s directives. Due to this, X was the target of numerous legal measures, some of which included the freezing of Musk companies’ business assets in Brazil, including Starlink.
Given that Musk is seen as a champion of free expression, the move to suspend X has generated conversations regarding censorship and free speech.
His company’s history, however, demonstrates otherwise, with cases of content removal to abide by foreign government orders.
Experts in the field predict that the STF’s enforcement action against X will alter how big tech corporations see the Brazilian legal system. Now that it has been suspended, X is up against more competition in Brazil from other social apps like Threads, owned by Meta, and Bluesky.
Overall, although X and the Brazilian authorities continue their legal battle, it is unclear how this event will affect the business and customers. Given the intricacy and sensitivity of the matter, it is noteworthy that neither Musk nor X officials have responded to calls for comment thus far. It will be critical to keep an eye out for any potential developments in this continuing case as the story progresses.
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