Brazil justice unblocks X and Starlink bank accounts following R$18.35 M transfer to national treasury News
Cayambe, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Brazil justice unblocks X and Starlink bank accounts following R$18.35 M transfer to national treasury

Justice Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) mandated the transfer of R$18,350,000 to the national treasury from funds previously frozen in the bank accounts of X (formerly Twitter) and Starlink. This decision was signed on September 11, 2024, and subsequently made public on Friday.

X was fined for failing to comply with orders from the STF to remove certain users from its platform, as well as for withdrawing its legal representatives in Brazil, which resulted in the suspension of its operations within the country. Moraes ordered the freezing of X and Starlink’s accounts to ensure full compliance with the penalties.

Earlier this year, Justice Moraes mandated that X remove certain accounts as part of an ongoing investigation into “digital militias” accused of spreading fake news and hate speech during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The company contended that this decision violated the Marco Civil da Internet and the Brazilian Federal Constitution. Additionally, on August 30, Moraes issued an order to suspend the company’s operations after it failed to meet the legal requirement to appoint a local representative.

On September 12, banks Citibank S.A. and Itaú Unibanco S.A. informed the STF that they had fully complied with the orders. With the full payment completed, Moraes concluded that the continued freezing of the bank accounts was no longer necessary and directed the immediate unblocking of the accounts, financial assets, vehicles, and real estate belonging to the companies.

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