Brazil lifts ban on Elon Musk's X after paying $5 million fine

Brazil's Supreme Court has said it is lifting a ban on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

In his decision, Judge Alexandre de Moraes said that he called for the “immediate return” of the activities of

According to the statementThe site has paid fines totaling 28 million reais ($5.1 million; £3.8 million) and agreed to appoint a local representative, as required by Brazilian law.

Moraes had blocked access to Elon Musk's platform after it refused to block several profiles that the government believed were spreading misinformation about Brazil's 2022 presidential election.

Anatel, Brazil's telecommunications regulator, has been ordered to ensure that service is restored to more than 20 million users in the country within 24 hours.

After months of defying the court's orders, Musk fired the company's Brazilian employees in late August and closed X's office in Brazil.

“The decision to close X offices in Brazil was difficult,” wrote Musk, who also runs electric car maker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX, at the time.

A self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” the billionaire entrepreneur described Judge Moraes’ move to block several dozen accounts as an abuse of power and a violation of free speech.

A few days later, Judge Moraes ordered the entire platform to be blocked across the country.

Many users switched to alternative websites like Bluesky and the demand for VPNs (Virtual Proxy Networks) in Brazil skyrocketed.

But in September, in an apparent about-face, the platform began complying with the court's orders.

On Tuesday, X said it was “proud to return to Brazil.”

“Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform has been paramount throughout the process,” the government affairs team said wrote in a statement.

It appears that X has now complied with all of the judge's demands to have the ban lifted.

Brazil is one of the largest markets for the platform worldwide and the largest in Latin America, with an estimated 22 million users.