The Global Government Affairs team of X Corp. (formerly Twitter) announced on Tuesday the resumption of its operations in Brazil after the country’s supreme court ordered the company’s reinstatement. Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), had instituted the ban on X on August 30 for the failure of the company to adhere to orders of the court, specifically, the payment of fines. This ban was lifted once the company complied with the court orders

Justice Alexandre de Moraes submitted that the company had failed to comply with domestic laws concerning the freedom of expression in the course of its operations. This is pursuant to allegations of hate speech, anti-democratic messages and disinformation by undisclosed users of X in Brazil to erode democracy and the rule of law during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro. These actions constitute a violation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Brazil. Moraes claimed that Brazilian Civil Rights Framework for the Internet provides for the civil liability of Internet application providers for damages resulting from content generated by third parties. 

Therefore, X was ordered to block certain profiles that the court said spread anti-democratic views and to appoint a legal representative for the company in Brazil. Following the failure of X to comply with the order of appointing a legal representative, the court imposed a fine and emphasized the need of the company to pay the fine so that the court could lift the ban on operations. Although X paid the fine, it deposited the amount to the wrong account. The court was insistent on the fact that it was necessary for X to deposit the amount in the right account for it to lift the ban.

The Global Government Affairs team of X expressed delight towards the restoration of its operations in Brazil stating, “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.”