Musk’s X seeks resumption of Brazil service as fines paid

By Luciana Magalhaes

SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Elon Musk-owned social media platform X has filed a fresh request to resume services in Brazil after paying some pending fines that had been imposed by the country’s Supreme Court, a document seen by Reuters on Friday showed.

X has been suspended since late August in Brazil, one of its largest and most coveted markets, after not complying with court orders related to hate speech moderation and failing to name a legal representative in the country, as required by law.

After reversing course and deciding to obey the orders in recent weeks, including blocking some accounts under investigation, the company initially asked the court on Sept. 26 to allow it to resume service in Brazil.

But top court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled at the time the platform still needed to pay just over $5 million in pending fines before the suspension was lifted.

Payments totaling 28.6 million reais ($5.24 million) have now been made and are “duly proven,” the document filed by X lawyers said. “X Brasil requests that the platform be unblocked for free access by its users in national territory.”

($1 = 5.4597 reais)