RIO DE JANEIRO: A Brazilian judge has ordered the unblocking of the bank accounts for Elon Musk’s X platform after it agreed to pay over $5 million in fines.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s ruling allows for the suspension of X to be lifted in Brazil, where access has been restricted since August 31 due to a dispute over disinformation between Musk and the judge.
Moraes initially ordered X to be shut down in Brazil after Musk declined to remove several right-wing accounts and did not appoint a new legal representative in the country as required. In his recent ruling, the judge instructed Brazil’s central bank to unblock X’s accounts so it can receive transfers and “immediately make payment of the fines specified.”
X has informed the court that it will pay approximately $5.2 million in fines, as stated in the ruling. Justice Moraes has been involved in an ongoing conflict with Musk, part of his efforts to combat disinformation in Brazil.
The clash has escalated into a significant battle testing the boundaries of freedom of expression and corporate responsibility in the largest country in South America. Before the ban, X had over 22 million users in Brazil, and the company has recently begun to comply with the Brazilian court’s requirements to reactivate its services.
Musk has openly criticized Moraes on social media, labeling him an “evil dictator” and referring to him as “Voldemort,” after the antagonist from the “Harry Potter” series.
