BRASILIA :Brazil’s Supreme Court cleared X to resume service in the country on Tuesday, after the social media platform reversed course and started complying with court rulings billionaire owner Elon Musk had previously vowed to resist.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who had been locked in a months-long feud with Musk, gave X the green light to resume operations in Latin America’s largest country effective immediately.
In the decision, Moraes said X had met all the necessary requirements to start operating again in the country.
The platform formerly called Twitter had been suspended in Brazil, one of its largest and most-coveted markets, since late August after not complying with court orders related to hate speech moderation and failing to name a legal representative in the country, as required by law.
Musk, who had denounced the orders as censorship and called Moraes a “dictator,” started to reverse his position in recent weeks, with his social media network blocking accounts flagged by the court, tapping a local representative and paying pending fines.
Moraes, in his Tuesday decision, ruled that Brazil’s telecommunications regulator Anatel must work to allow X to come back online within 24 hours. Users in Brazil were still unable to access the platform as of 7 p.m. local time.
Through its Global Affairs account, X said it was proud to return to Brazil, adding that it “will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law” in the countries where it operates.
The Brazil dispute was one of a series of recent face-offs between Musk, who views himself as a champion of free speech, and governments including Australia and the United Kingdom seeking to prevent the spread of online misinformation.
Brazil’s communication minister said on Tuesday that X’s decision to pay the fines and comply with court orders was a “victory for the country.”
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