Elon Musk’s X aims to resume service in Brazil by paying fines

Lawyers for the social network owned by Elon Musk told the Brazilian court on Friday that the tech company had paid 28.6 million reais ($5.24 million) in fines.

Brazil’s Supreme Court said on Friday that lawyers representing social media platform X did not pay the outstanding fines to the correct bank, delaying its decision on whether to allow the tech company to resume its services in Brazil.

Earlier in the day, X, owned by Elon Musk, filed a new request to have its services reinstated in the country, stating that all pending fines had been paid. In Friday’s decision, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes requested that the payment be transferred to the correct bank.

He also determined that, once the fines are resolved, Brazil’s attorney general should issue a statement regarding the recent requests submitted by X’s legal team in Brazil, which has been trying to have the platform reinstated in the country. X has been suspended since late August in Brazil, one of its largest and most coveted markets, for failing to comply with court orders related to hate speech moderation and not appointing a legal representative in the country as required by law. After reversing course and complying with the top court’s orders in recent weeks, including blocking certain accounts under investigation, the company asked the court on September 26 to allow it to resume service in Brazil.

Moraes, however, ruled at that time that the platform still needed to pay more than $5 million in outstanding fines before the suspension could be lifted. On Friday, X’s lawyers told the court that the tech company had paid 28.6 million reais ($5.24 million) in fines, according to a document seen by Reuters.