By Jack Nicas and Ana Ionova
Earlier this week, Brazil lifted its ban on the social media platform X after its owner, Elon Musk, conceded in his struggle with the nation’s Supreme Court, concluding a five-week suspension of the service in the country of 200 million people.
The Brazilian Supreme Court stated that X had met its directives to remove specific accounts, which the court deemed essential for protecting the democracy of Brazil, while Musk labeled it as unlawful censorship. The platform also adhered to additional requirements, including the payment of fines and appointing a new local representative.
X’s decision to comply signified a significant turnaround for Musk, who had vocally criticized and challenged the court for several months, even going as far as to release its sealed directives and shut down X’s offices in Brazil. In response, the court imposed a ban on X in August, redirecting millions of Brazilian users to alternative platforms.
However, X is now poised to return to Brazil and follow directives that Musk had promised to resist. In a statement on Tuesday, X declared that “providing tens of millions of Brazilians access to our essential platform was paramount throughout this entire process.” It further emphasized that it would “continue to champion freedom of speech, while abiding by the law, in every market where we operate.”
Justice Alexandre de Moraes instructed regulators on Tuesday to permit X to resume operations in Brazil within 24 hours, though the actual return of the site may take longer.
This apparent conclusion to the prolonged conflict signifies a setback for Musk, who has promoted himself as a staunch advocate for free expression. His business lost a month’s revenue in one of its largest markets, enabling competitors to establish a presence, only to find himself back at square one.
Nonetheless, in spite of the legal and commercial loss, Musk and his supporters may view this chapter as a public relations win. Standing up to Brazil’s Supreme Court—which has aggressively sought to censor certain online voices—garnered Musk considerable acclaim from those concerned about governmental constraints on free speech. This came even as he complied with government mandates elsewhere to eliminate accounts and posts.
Conversely, this outcome is a success for the Brazilian Supreme Court and specifically for Moraes, the judge who spearheaded the campaign against X.
Moraes has emerged as a divisive figure in Brazil due to his extensive efforts to regulate the internet, and his decision to block X has sparked intense debate. Yet many in Brazil, particularly those on the left, have lauded the judge’s position as emblematic of a developing nation standing up to the world’s wealthiest individual and his formidable tech conglomerate.
The developments in Brazil also indicate that national governments still maintain an advantage in the ongoing struggle against large tech corporations.
The contention has revolved around Moraes’ demands to suspend accounts on X that he claimed disseminated hate speech or posed a threat to Brazil’s democracy. He has largely refrained from disclosing the specific actions of the accounts that warranted suspension. However, in some of his directives released by X, it became evident that the accounts had questioned the legitimacy of Brazil’s elections and showed support for demonstrators calling for a military coup.
Musk has contended that suspending these accounts exemplifies a perilous precedent of governmental control over speech. He has vocally denounced Moraes for months, labeling him a dictator and asserting that he deserves imprisonment.
“This was a showdown between the Supreme Court and Elon Musk,” remarked Laura Porto, a Brazilian lawyer specializing in digital law. “I perceive it as a triumph for national sovereignty, showcasing Brazil’s ability to enforce these boundaries.”
Musk had attempted to leverage various alternatives to combat the blocking of X. Starlink, his satellite internet service, signaled to regulators that it would defy orders to prohibit X within Brazil. Subsequently, X employed a technical strategy to briefly circumvent the ban, restoring access for many Brazilians.
However, Starlink quickly complied when regulators threatened to rescind its license. X’s technical workaround was shut down within a day, and Moraes even compelled X to settle fines it had avoided in Brazil by extracting funds from Starlink.
Consequently, X faced defeat after defeat, ultimately yielding to the court’s demands.
For many conservatives in Brazil, nonetheless, the conflict underscored the perception that Brazil’s Supreme Court has amassed excessive power. “We will not cease until we restore democracy in Brazil!” declared Eduardo Girão, a right-wing Brazilian senator, on X, accompanied by a video of him at a protest advocating for Moraes’ impeachment.
Some are holding out hope that Musk’s change of heart is merely a temporary truce and that he has ulterior motives to undermine the court soon. Recently, another right-wing Brazilian congressman suggested in an interview that Musk was only “temporarily” adhering to the court’s requests in order to lift the ban on X, but still intends to push for Moraes’ impeachment.
