Brazil supreme court rules fine must reach correct account to lift X ban News
Dasfour2022, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Brazil supreme court rules fine must reach correct account to lift X ban

The Supreme Federal Court (STF) of Brazil announced on Friday that social media platform X (formerly Twitter) must wait for the fine paid to the wrong government bank account to be transferred to the correct account before the court can lift an order that blocks the platform from Brazil.

On Friday, X submitted a petition notifying the full payment of the fines imposed on the company and requested the restoration of its operations in Brazil. Later that day, the STF stated that the R$28.6M deposit had not been made into the account specified in the case, “despite its existence being fully known to the defendant [X]”. Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled that the Judicial Secretariat must transfer the funds to the correct account immediately, but that X’s operations in Brazil could not be restored until then.

X was suspended and penalized by the STF in August for its failure to comply with court orders to block certain accounts on its platform, as well as for failing to appoint a local representative in Brazil. On September 27, X stated that it had fulfilled the conditions for resuming activities in Brazil by blocking nine accounts under investigation. These accounts were accused of spreading fake news and hate speech during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro.

The company also appointed a local representative to represent it in Brazil. Local representatives are required by law for foreign companies and are responsible for ensuring compliance with Brazilian regulations.

X owner Elon Musk has been critical of the Brazilian court order, which he claims infringes on free speech.

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