BRAZIL, SEPT 29 – A Brazilian judge involved in a legal dispute with X owner Elon Musk recently said he will restore the social network in Brazil if a fine of around US$1.8 million is paid.
Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes last month ordered X to be shut down in Brazil, after Musk refused to delete dozens of far-right accounts and then failed to name a new legal representative in the country as ordered.
Moraes said that for X to be reactivated it must pay a US$1.84 million fine, after denying requests to lift the suspension.
He also recently said that the platform would be penalized for failing for two days to comply with an order to suspend the use of servers that allowed it to temporarily bypass the nationwide ban.
A prominent judge, Moraes has been embroiled in a lengthy dispute with Tesla and SpaceX owner Musk as part of his efforts to crack down on misinformation in Brazil.
The clash between Brazil’s courts and the iconoclastic billionaire has turned into a high-stakes battle that tests the limits of free speech and corporate responsibility in South America’s largest country.
X had more than 22 million users in Brazil before the ban, which took effect on August 31. – AFP
