The Brazilian Supreme Court has stated that X (formerly Twitter) will need to clear fines amounting to more than $5 million before it is allowed to restore services in the country, according to a report by Reuters.
The fines include a new $1.8 million penalty related to X’s “inadvertent” availability to some users last month, which the company ascribed to an update to its communications network. The brief restoration had angered Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes — a focal figure in the X ban saga also involving owner Elon Musk.
The court had warned X not to circumvent the ban and imposed a daily fine on it for breaching court directives. X’s previous fines stand at $3.8 million. The fine for restoration amid suspension was announced on Friday.
A highly publicised spat between Musk and Judge de Moraes unfolded after the Brazilian authorities accused X of spreading misinformation and hate speech in April, ordering the platform to suspend certain accounts. Musk called Judge de Moraes “a tyrant” and “evil dictator”, equating his actions with “censorship”.
Brazil is among X’s largest markets with nearly 40 million users.
The feud blew up when X refused to name a new legal representative following the departure of its former representative from the country. X claimed the authorities froze her bank accounts and harassed her, and refused to comply with the court’s order to name a new representative for the continuing investigation.
Tech companies in Brazil are bound by law to have a legal representative in the country.
Just days after the suspension of X, however, the platform stated it was working for restoration. Last week, X initiated official proceedings and prepared documents naming its new legal representative. The platform is expected to be restored across Brazil soon.
The use of VPNs to access X amid the blockage has been penalised by the court, too, with a fine of up to $9,000 a day.
