Elon Musk capitulates, complies with legal orders in Brazil

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(Bloomberg) — Elon Musk backed down and decided to comply with court orders in Brazil, an attempt to end a monthslong clash that culminated in million-dollar fines and the banning of his social network X in Latin America’s largest economy.

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X appointed a legal representative in the country on Friday, seeking to obey a deadline imposed by the Supreme Court and end the ban on the social-media platform in the country that began Aug. 30, according to a judicial filing.

The company formerly known as Twitter also informed the court that it followed previous orders and blocked accounts allegedly responsible for disseminating hate speech and fake news, two people familiar with the matter who can’t publicly discuss a case under seal said Saturday. The company had until now resisted abiding by orders from the court.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes gave X five days to provide further information on its legal representation, according to a new order filed on Saturday. It also granted the court’s secretary 48 hours to verify if earlier orders were respected. The court will then be able to make a decision on whether to reinstate X in Brazil after a review.

“Clarifications and information in response to Moraes’ order” were presented to the court, the law firm hired by X said in a statement late Friday in Brazil. X is now represented by Rachel de Oliveira Villa Nova Conceição in Brazil, according to a court document first reported by CNN Brasil.

Although X informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it had appointed two attorneys in the country, Moraes gave the company 24 hours to prove lawyers were hired on its behalf. The deadline ended at 9:29 p.m. local time Friday, according to the court.

In April, Musk pledged to defy orders from Moraes, who is spearheading a judicial campaign against hate speech and fake news, to suspend certain accounts in the country. The world’s richest man accused the judge of censorship, while Moraes opened a criminal inquiry into Musk and accused him of spreading disinformation.

This week the platform abruptly became accessible to Brazilian users after an automatic update switched the way it directs traffic, the country’s association of internet providers said.

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Moraes ordered X to restore a block on its site Sept. 19 or face fines of 5 million reais ($907,000) a day, accusing it of attempting to “disobey” the court. A spokesperson for X said late Sept. 18 that a change to its network provider following the ban had caused an “inadvertent and temporary service restoration to Brazilian users.”

Brazil’s telecommunications watchdog said in a statement Sept. 19 that the conduct of X demonstrates “deliberate intention to disregard the order of the Supreme Court” and that “any new attempts to circumvent the block will merit appropriate measures” from the regulatory agency.

On Saturday, Moraes gave a 48-hour deadline to the Federal Police and the Brazilian telecommunications agency to send reports on the possibility of access to X so a fine can be calculated.

Brazil last week withdrew 18.35 million reais from local bank accounts of X and the satellite internet provider Starlink to pay for fines imposed by the Supreme Court. Moraes had blocked Starlink’s accounts in a bid to force the US technology company to pay the penalties imposed for ignoring a previous order.