Elon Musk finally complies with court order, pays fine; Brazil lifts temporary ban on X

BRASILIA: Brazil's Supreme Court has lifted a temporary ban imposed on social media platform X. The ban was put in place as X failed to comply with an order to block certain accounts accused of spreading fake news and disinformation.

Judge Alexandre de Moraes lifted the temporary ban on X after the company paid a $5.2 million fine and complied with court orders. The court directed Brazil's communications regulator to activate the platform within 24 hours. The ban was imposed on X after the Brazilian Supreme Court found that fake and divisive news was spreading across the country through the social media platform.

Musk, who had denounced the orders as censorship and called Judge Moraes a "dictator," started to reverse his position in recent weeks, with his social media network blocking accounts flagged by the court, tapping a local representative and paying pending fines. Through its Global Affairs account, X said it was proud to return to Brazil, adding that it "will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law" in the countries where it operates.