Judge Alexandre de Moraes lifted the ban on X as the company began complying with his orders. It previously did not and received a ban.
Crypto Town Square X will now be allowed to operate in Brazil again as Judge Alexandre de Moraes ended its ban in the country. Brazil is X’s biggest market in Latin America, boasting anywhere between 20 million to 40 million users, and one of the most bullish regions for crypto in the world.
The crypto community was worried about X’s ban there on August 30, which prevented Brazilian crypto users from interacting with the rest of the horde. Platforms like Jack Dorsey’s Bluesky began witnessing unseen usage. However, users can now return to where most of the crypto talk occurs if they wish to.
Moraes ordered the platform to shut down over a month ago due to the misinformation spread on the platform, which X failed to curb. The court began taking a tough stance against misinformation as a group of Jair Bolsonaro supporters took over government buildings in an attempted coup to overturn election results, which indicated his loss.
In fact, the court even asked X to ban the former Brazilian president’s account alongside other far-right misinformation-spreading accounts. Musk did not do so. Moraes demanded the platform close its doors. Musk took shots at the judge, calling him “evil” and a “dictator” in the process.
Now, X has agreed to comply with the terms and paid a fine of 28.6 million reais ($5.5 million), which was previously outstanding. However, the payment of that sum has a story of its own. The fines, coughed up by Musk’s satellite company, Starlink, were sent to the wrong bank account. They were redirected to the right account sometime later, allowing X to complete its requirements to be reinstated in Brazil.
The requirements, beyond the fine and blocking certain accounts, include appointing a new legal representative, whom X has now hired. With X meeting all requirements, the telecoms watchdog Anatel was asked to monitor service reinstation for over 20 million users.
Users Begin Calling X Out
X’s Global Government Affairs team issued a statement on the same platform, saying, “X is proud to be back in Brazil. Providing tens of millions of Brazilians with access to our indispensable platform was a priority throughout this process.” Its next sentence, “We will continue to defend freedom of expression, within the bounds of the law, everywhere we operate,” drew a lot of criticism, with many calling X out for bending its knee to authoritarianism.
