More than a month after X was blocked in Brazil, the company is now making its grand return. The country's court already confirmed that the company has complied with its orders and paid its fines. Initially, X, formerly Twitter, tried to fight against the ban, with Elon Musk saying that Brazil and its Supreme Court Justice were blocking free speech.
X ultimately faced a block in the country for not complying with the court's order to ban certain accounts and people on social media. The company held out for over a month before caving in.
X is Now Back in Brazil After Paying the Right Bank
Brazil's Supreme Court has ruled that X can be unblocked in the country after adhering to the requirements set by the officials for its operations within the country, NPR reported. Over the weekend, reports revealed that X already paid the fine worth $5 million (R$28.6 million), but it was sent to the wrong bank, causing further delays to its supposed return and unblocking.
But now the funds that X sent over were finally processed and sent to the right bank, showing the company's compliance with the court's order.
Previously, Brazil wanted Apple and Google to remove X from the App Store and Play Store in the country. It later allowed the social media network to remain available but opted to block access of users within the country.
X to Comply With Brazilian Court Orders
Apart from the massive fines that X paid to Brazil, the company also reportedly complied with the original order from the Brazilian court to ban certain accounts on the platform. However, there's no word yet if the social media platform completed the suspensions.
In the wake of X's ban, the platform lost more than 20 million active users in Brazil alone, and it was a significant dent in its numbers, causing the company to rethink its resistance.
Elon Musk vs. Brazil
Toward the end of August, X and owner Elon Musk stood their ground by not following Brazil's Supreme Court orders asking the company to ban the accounts involved in inciting the riot in different government offices in Brasilia, including other supporters of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro. Instead, they upheld their beliefs in offering Brazilians the "freedom of speech," leading to the platform facing a ban.
Users were left without a platform to air their opinions and enjoy the content and services available on the platform. However, many also opted to explore the alternative platform Bluesky, from the renowned Twitter founder Jack Dorsey. Interestingly, there was also a workaround for the block since using a VPN allowed users to continue accessing X, but this came with a price as Brazil imposed a fine for doing so.
Before and amid the block, Musk was quite vocal against what the Brazilian court was asking for, particularly since it did not adhere to his belief in extreme free speech and would deprive users the chance to share their unfiltered views online. But seeing the company's compliance this week, it's safe to assume that Musk wants X to continue its operations in Brazil.
