Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, is having a hard time in Brazil. The platform was banned in the country after it failed to comply with the Supreme Court’s demand to appoint a legal representative in the country, which left millions of users unable to access it.
But according to X’s lawyers, this is about to change. In a move that many experts say is the first show of X’s will to comply with Brazilian regulators, they will name two legal representatives who have yet to be chosen.
It is also worth mentioning that the social media platform is at risk of a $1 million-a-day fine for bypassing the suspension through the use of Starlink.
X’s lawyers have already sent a document stating representatives are being chosen
Andre Zonato and Sergio Rosenthal, who were recently appointed as X’s lawyers in Brazil, have stated that they already told the Brazilian Supreme Court that legal representatives are being chosen.
Interestingly enough, on Wednesday, X became accessible to millions of users in Brazil after an update on the platform’s communications network bypassed the court-ordered block. This bypass resulted in a fine of $921,726.95 for the social media platform.
This case has been extremely controversial. For one, Elon Musk has continuously described justice Alexandre de Moraes as a “dictator”, “tyrant” and a threat to free speech. On the other hand, Brazil’s justice, De Moraes has since come out and said “There is no doubt that X, under Elon Musk’s direct command, again intends to disrespect Brazil’s Judiciary.”
On Wednesday, September 17, X put out a statement saying that its “switch in network providers caused an inadvertent and temporary service restoration” in the country but claimed it is still working closely with the Brazilian government to lift the ban.
Zonato and Rosenthal called the temporary bypass of the ban a “technical issue”, and not a show of bad faith or an attempt to challenge Brazilian authorities.
But why is this ban taking place in the first place? Brazilian regulators have taken very seriously what they describe as a “surge of misinformation” on X, and have since blocked accounts implicated in this.
Elon Musk has described these actions as censorship. Claims by Musk have not stopped his company from cooperating with Brazilian officials, given not only that the company is naming legal representatives, but that it has also worked to help shut down accounts.
