In a major downhill climb, Elon Musk’s X told Brazil’s Supreme Court that it had complied with orders to stop the spread of disinformation and asked a judge to lift a ban on the platform, according to a document Reuters had seen.
The billionaire had been fighting what he called “censorship” for more than five months in a feud with a judge in one of X’s largest and most coveted markets. The court shut down Brazilians’ access to the platform at the end of August.
A court decision on X’s return is still pending, but people close to Musk in Brazil believe service could be restored within days.
Late on Thursday,
“We will continue to defend freedom of expression and due process through legal processes,” the company’s Global Affairs team added in a post on the platform.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who has led a local crusade against alleged attacks on democracy and the political use of disinformation, banned the platform formerly known as Twitter after Musk closed X’s offices in Brazil.
The legal battle eventually hit another prominent company controlled by Musk, satellite internet provider Starlink, whose accounts De Moraes froze in a move that led Musk to label him a “dictator.”
The brawl in Brazil was just one of a series of recent confrontations between Musk, who sees himself as a champion of free speech, and governments, including Australia and Britain, that are trying to prevent the spread of online disinformation.
Brazil was the sixth largest market for X globally, with approximately 21.5 million users.
“Musk was afraid of losing market share. He also realized that this was a nonsense fight and that the Brazilians did not turn their backs on Judge Alexandre de Moraes as he expected,” said Thiago de Aragao, senior researcher at the Center for Strategic Affairs. and International Studies in Washington.
In a last-ditch effort to circumvent Moraes’ ban, to lay. .
Late last week, X moved in a more conciliatory direction and appointed a local legal representative, as Moraes had demanded.
In the document sent to Brazil’s Supreme Court, the Musk-controlled company said it has blocked nine accounts under investigation in an investigation into hate speech and disinformation.
“His withdrawal is very positive. Whether one agrees with it or not, the law must be respected and not defied,” Rubens Barbosa, a former Brazilian ambassador to the United States, told Reuters.
According to two people familiar with Musk’s thinking, the billionaire will take a very different approach once X returns to Brazil, adding that he may still be combative but will likely try to respect the law. “From now on he will fight in court,” one of the people said.
X did not respond to a request for comment.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
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