Brazil’s Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that it was lifting the ban on Elon Musk’s social network X, which had been blocked in Brazil for over a month due to concerns over disinformation. Judge Alexandre de Moraes ruled to “authorize the immediate return of the activities” of the platform, which was previously known as Twitter. This decision follows X’s settlement of millions of dollars in fines for failing to adhere to several court orders.
The judge instructed Brazil’s communications regulator to restore access to the platform within 24 hours for its millions of users in Brazil. Musk had not yet responded to the ruling at the time of the announcement.
The conflict between Musk and Moraes escalated over the past few months, particularly concerning the spread of online disinformation during Brazil’s 2022 election campaign. The situation reached a boiling point on August 31 when Moraes blocked X after the platform failed to deactivate accounts belonging to supporters of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro and did not designate a new legal representative in Brazil.
This dispute highlighted the ongoing debate between freedom of expression and corporate accountability, garnering global attention. Musk expressed his anger towards Moraes, labeling him an “evil dictator” and comparing him to “Voldemort” from the Harry Potter series. In contrast, Moraes accused X of threatening democracy by allowing disinformation to proliferate. This stance was supported by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who asserted that the government would not be intimidated by those who believe they are above the law.
Ultimately, X complied with all of Moraes’s demands, which led to the lifting of the suspension.