Brazil Reopens Elon Musk’s X and Starlink After $3.31M Fine Payment

On Friday, September 13, Brazil lifted bans on Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) and Starlink after the companies paid a total of 18.35 million reais ($3.31 million) in fines to Brazilian authorities.

The decision to lift the restrictions was made by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who had imposed the blockages amid a dispute between Musk and the Brazilian top court. X had been banned in the country since last month, with Moraes also imposing a $9,000 daily fine on anyone attempting to bypass the ban using a VPN.

Despite the ban, X remains highly popular in Brazil, with more than 22 million users, far surpassing the numbers for Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok in the country.

 

Tensions between X and Justice Moraes

The conflict between X and Justice Moraes began last month when X alleged that its Brazilian representative had been threatened with legal action by the judge for failing to comply with court orders to remove certain content.

“Moraes has chosen to threaten our staff in Brazil rather than respect the law or due process,” stated X’s Global Government Affairs account on social media. The platform further announced that, to ensure the safety of its employees, it would be closing its operations in Brazil immediately.

Earlier in the year, Moraes had ordered X to remove accounts accused of spreading fake news and promoting hate speech during the tenure of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Musk responded by calling the order “unconstitutional” and reinstated the previously blocked accounts. This prompted Moraes to launch an investigation into Musk.