Platform X returns to Brazil, Musk reverses position under court pressure and resumes operations
The owner of Platform X, Elon Musk, initially refused to comply with the Brazilian court’s demands, describing the judge who ordered the blocking of the platform, Alexandre de Moraes, as an “authoritarian and censor”. Musk resisted the demands for a long time and harshly criticised the court’s decision, which he considered an infringement on freedom of speech. However, after several weeks of Platform X being unavailable in Brazil, he finally decided to give in and start complying with all the court’s demands.
On Wednesday, the Brazilian Supreme Court announced that Platform X can resume its activities in the country, as it has now complied with all the conditions ordered by the court. The decision has immediate effect, as confirmed by news agencies following the ruling made by Judge Alexandre de Moraes. The court’s decision came after the platform began to comply with several key measures that Elon Musk, the US billionaire and owner of X, had previously repeatedly refused to accept.
X was blocked in Brazil, one of its biggest markets, in late August 2024 after a months-long dispute between Musk and Judge de Moraes. The main points of contention were issues relating to freedom of speech, control over far-right accounts and the spread of misinformation on the social network. Musk publicly attacked de Moraes, calling him an “authoritarian” and a “censor”, but the platform eventually had to accede to his demands.
According to the AP, those demands included blocking certain accounts that spread misinformation or were linked to far-right activities, paying outstanding fines and appointing a lawyer in Brazil. The latter was particularly important because Brazilian law requires that every foreign company operating in the country have an official legal representative. The absence of legal representation was one of the reasons why the platform was blocked.
X has an estimated 20 to 40 million users in Brazil, making the country one of its most important markets outside the United States. Some users, frustrated by the block, have since moved on to other social networks, such as Meta-owned Threads, or Bluesky, which is backed by the founder of the original Twitter, Jack Dorsey. Although X is now available again in Brazil, it is unclear how many of these users will decide to return to the platform.
Analyst Matteo Ceurvels of Emarketer said Musk’s behavior, where he initially sharply criticized the court ruling and then changed his stance, is not surprising. He said it was a pragmatic decision motivated by economic reasons. The loss of millions of users in one of the largest markets in the third world would mean a significant financial drop, especially in terms of advertising revenue, which is crucial to the platform. Ceurvels suggested that Musk’s change in stance likely stems from concerns that a long-term block could mean the loss of a huge market and thus millions of dollars in revenue.
Brazil is not the first country to block Platform X, formerly known as Twitter. Similar drastic measures have been taken in several authoritarian regimes such as Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Turkmenistan. However, this country is exceptional in that it is a democracy with one of the largest internet markets in the world. Some other countries, such as Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt, have temporarily suspended the operation of Platform X during periods of unrest or when dissent has been suppressed, but Brazil is the first major democracy to take such a step.
This case illustrates the growing tensions between tech giants and governments over the regulation of social media content, freedom of speech and the spread of misinformation. It also demonstrates how important local markets are for global tech companies and how financial and legal pressures can force even influential figures like Elon Musk to adapt to local rules and regulations.
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