Elon Musk's X Faces Supreme Court Verdict in Brazil: Funds Unblocked Following $5 Million Fine

Major Developments Following X's Supreme Court Verdict

A Brazilian judge on Tuesday ordered the unblocking of the bank accounts of Elon Musk’s X in the country after the social media platform agreed to pay more than $5 million in fines. The ruling by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes paves the way for the suspension of X to be lifted in Brazil, where it has been off-limits to users since August 31 in a standoff over disinformation between the judge and Musk.

Moraes ordered X shut down in Latin America’s biggest country after Musk refused to remove dozens of right-wing accounts and then failed to name a new legal representative in the country as ordered. In his latest decision, the judge ordered Brazil’s central bank to unblock X’s bank accounts so it can receive transfers and immediately make payment of the fines indicated.

X had informed the court it would pay fines to the tune of some $5.2 million, according to the ruling. High-profile judge Moraes has been engaged in a long feud with Tesla and SpaceX owner Musk as part of his drive to crack down on disinformation in Brazil.

The Clash Over Freedom of Expression and Corporate Responsibility

The clash between the Brazilian court and the billionaire has morphed into a high-stakes tussle testing the limits of both freedom of expression and corporate responsibility in South America's largest country. X had more than 22 million users in Brazil before the ban, which was implemented on August 31. The company has started complying with the Brazilian court’s conditions to get reactivated, while Musk continues to vocally criticize Moraes on social media, referring to him as an “evil dictator” and dubbing him “Voldemort”.