Brazil lifts ban on Elon Musk’s X after company pays millions of dollars in fines

Elon Musk’s X platform was banned due to a controversy over disinformation, but the Brazilian Supreme Court has now lifted the ban on the social media platform, Al Jazeera reported on Wednesday.

“I authorize the immediate withdrawal of X’s activities,” Judge Alexandre de Moraes said in his/her ruling, after the company paid a million-dollar fine for failing to comply with a series of court orders.

Judge de Moraes offered the Brazilian Communications Authority 24 hours to restore platform access.

The world’s richest man and self-described “free speech absolutist” Elon Musk has not yet reacted to the decision, Al Jazeera reported.

Earlier, de Moraes had made the controversial decision to outlaw X in Brazil after the company’s billionaire owner Elon Musk disobeyed court orders to remove accounts that were allegedly spreading misinformation.

Additionally, the social media network missed a legally mandated deadline to designate legal representation in Brazil, Al Jazeera reported.

Musk owns both Starlink and

Musk called de Moraes an “evil dictator” following the court’s decision to shut down X.

Musk also expressed sympathy for those who supported former Brazilian right-wing leader Jair Bolsonaro after spreading unverified information on the October 2022 election, which he/she lost, Al Jazeera reported.

Bolsonaro’s followers eventually stormed the country’s legislature on January 8, 2023, and called for a military coup to overturn his/her defeat.

Since then, Bolsonaro has been unable to hold public office until 2030, and, like Musk, he/she and Justice de Moraes have clashed over the investigation into his/her behavior.