X requests it be reinstated in Brazil after complying with judge’s orders, source says

X complied with orders to block certain accounts from platform and pay fines imposed for not complying with court orders, lawyers said

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The X account of Elon Musk in seen blocked on a mobile screen in an illustration after Brazil’s telecommunications regulator suspended access to Musk’s X social network in the country. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:10am, 27 Sep 2024Updated: 2:47am, 27 Sep 2024

Billionaire Elon Musk’s social media site X has complied with Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ orders and requested its service be reestablished in the country, a source said on Thursday.

X complied with de Moraes’ orders to block certain accounts from the platform, name an official legal representative in the country, and pay fines imposed for not complying with court orders, lawyers said in a petition filed on Thursday, according to a source familiar with the document. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the matter.

On Saturday, de Moraes ordered the platform to submit additional documentation about its legal representative for court review, which the source said has been done.

X was blocked in the highly online country of 213 million people on August 30. De Moraes ordered the shutdown after sparring with Musk for months over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation.

Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Photo: Reuters

In a twist, X’s representative is the same person who held the position before X closed its office in Brazil. That happened after de Moraes threatened to arrest the person, Rachel de Oliveira Villa Nova Conceição, if X did not comply with orders to block accounts.