According to Cointelegraph, Elon Musk’s social media platform X has taken steps to comply with Brazilian regulations after being blocked in the country for nearly a month. On September 18, X began suspending accounts accused of spreading misinformation, following an order from Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The platform also announced plans to appoint a new legal representative in Brazil, as required by local law.
The suspended accounts include those linked to digital influencer Allan dos Santos and journalist Paulo Figueiredo, both residing in the United States. Additionally, nine other accounts have been shut down. These accounts are believed to be associated with supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and had previously been banned from other social media platforms. The suspensions are part of two ongoing investigations into the spread of misinformation.
Musk has criticized Moraes’ actions, labeling them as politically motivated censorship and accusing the judge of acting like a “dictator” by targeting political opponents. Despite these accusations, a panel of Brazilian Supreme Court justices upheld Moraes’ decision, maintaining the suspension of X and imposing fines. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has supported the court’s efforts, emphasizing the importance of combating misinformation, especially in light of political unrest allegedly fueled by fake news.
On September 17, a technical incident temporarily restored access to X in Brazil due to a shift to Cloudflare’s servers. This unintentional restoration allowed users to access the platform briefly. A spokesperson for X’s Global Government Affairs clarified that the access was temporary and resulted from a technical failure related to changing the network infrastructure used to provide access to other South American countries. According to Moraes’ ban, Brazilian users who access X through virtual private networks (VPNs) may face daily fines of $9,000.
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