Oct. 9 (UPI) — Brazil’s Supreme Court has lifted a ban on the Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, permitting its service to resume operating in the South American country after being suspended late August over the spread of disinformation.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized X to resume operations in Brazil, a country of some 215 million people, on Tuesday.
“I decree the end of the suspension and authorize the immediate resumption of activities of X Brasil Internet Ltda. in national territory, and I order Anatel (national Telecommunications Agency) to take the necessary steps to implement the measure, notifying this Supreme Court within 24 hours,” Moraes wrote in his ruling.
X’s Global Government Affairs team announced that its services had resumed in a statement published on the platform.
“Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform was paramount throughout this entire process,” X said. “We will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law, everywhere we operate.”
X was suspended in the country Aug. 30 for repeatedly failing over the course of several months to comply with court orders and pay fines related to the spread of disinformation.
In ordering the suspension of X, Moraes chastised the company for its lack of moderation policies, pointing to an “imminent danger” of extremist groups using the platform to spread “Nazi, racist, fascist, hateful and anti-democratic messages.”
X had accused Moraes of shutting it down for not complying with orders to censor political opponents.
The ban was lifted Tuesday after X fully complied with orders on Sept. 27 to block profiles that disseminate false information and appoint a legal representative in the country.
It also paid its fines in full, amounting to some $5.2 million.