Why Was X Banned in Brazil?
The suspension of X stemmed from its failure to comply with multiple Supreme Court orders. Specifically, the platform did not deactivate accounts associated with supporters of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro and had not appointed a new legal representative in Brazil. On August 30, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre De Moraes blocked the platform, citing its non-compliance.
In his ruling on Tuesday, Justice De Moraes emphasized that X’s resumption of activities was contingent upon full adherence to Brazilian laws and the judiciary’s decisions. “The resumption of X’s activities on national territory was conditioned, solely, on full compliance with Brazilian laws and absolute observance of the Judiciary’s decisions, out of respect for national sovereignty,” he stated. He also confirmed that X had settled around $5.2 million in fines for its previous non-compliance.
Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes bans X in Brazil from today. He has also issued an order stating that anyone using a VPN to access X will be fined up to nearly USD 9000 per day pic.twitter.com/yOiLNraRI6
— Cyprian, Is Nyakundi (@C_NyaKundiH) August 31, 2024
Background of the Dispute
The conflict between X and Justice De Moraes began during the October 2022 elections, where Bolsonaro lost his bid for a second term. Tensions escalated following the January 2023 attacks by Bolsonaro supporters on federal buildings in Brasília, after the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Justice De Moraes accused X of undermining democracy by allowing the spread of disinformation—a view supported by Lula, who asserted that the state would not be intimidated by individuals or companies believing themselves to be above the law.
After the ban, Musk publicly criticized De Moraes, labeling him an “evil dictator” and likening him to “Voldemort,” the antagonist from the “Harry Potter” series. Ultimately, X complied with the demands set forth by the court to lift the suspension.
The resemblance is uncanny 🤣🤣
Alexandre de Voldemort pic.twitter.com/IXR569y2qT
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2024
X Welcomes the Decision
Following the lifting of the ban, X expressed its satisfaction with the ruling, stating, “Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform was paramount throughout this entire process. We will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law, everywhere we operate,” according to a post from the Global Government Affairs account.
X is proud to return to Brazil. Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform was paramount throughout this entire process. We will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law, everywhere we operate.
——————-
O…
— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) October 8, 2024
During the ban, many Brazilian users migrated to alternative platforms such as Threads and Bluesky, the latter created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. However, neither platform has matched the audience size that X commands in Brazil.
