Billionaire Elon Musk’s social media site X has made a significant move in Brazil. According to sources, X has complied with Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ orders and has requested its service to be reestablished in the country.
The compliance includes blocking certain accounts from the platform, naming an official legal representative in Brazil, and paying fines imposed for not adhering to court orders. This information was disclosed in a petition filed by X’s lawyers on Thursday, as reported by a source who wished to remain anonymous.
After being initially blocked on August 30, X has now provided additional documentation about its legal representative for court review, following Justice de Moraes’ order last Saturday.
The conflict between Musk and de Moraes stemmed from discussions around free speech, far-right accounts, and misinformation. This eventually led to the platform being blocked in Brazil, a nation with a population of 213 million people. This move has drawn attention to the ongoing debate on social media censorship.
Interestingly, the legal representative for X in Brazil is the same individual who held the position before the platform shut down its office in the country. This strategic move comes after de Moraes’ threats to arrest the representative for non-compliance with court orders.
Brazil is not the first country to experience a ban on X, though such actions are often associated with authoritarian regimes. Other countries like Russia, China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Venezuela, and Turkmenistan have also restricted access to the platform due to various reasons.
Countries like Pakistan, Turkey, and Egypt have previously suspended X temporarily, primarily to manage dissent and unrest within their borders.
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