The Alexandre de Moraes vs. X saga continues. It seemed it might be over, and that the ban in Brazil might get lifted after the social media company complied with the demands of the country’s Supreme Court.
And that included paying fines, which X owner Elon Musk last Friday said had been done. But now Justice Moraes claims that the payment was made to the wrong bank and needs to be transferred to the proper one – and besides, even when that issue is settled, the prosecutor general will have to be consulted before making a decision on restoring X in Brazil.
The first time X asked the Brazilian Supreme Court to allow it to resume business was on September 16, but Moraes at that time said that the fines still had to be paid.
The platform was blocked in August, as a result of an ever-escalating clash, always with Moraes as the main protagonist acting on behalf of Brazil. Since early 2024, X and Musk tried to resist censorship requests coming from Moraes and revealed some of the mechanisms behind it that were supposed to be kept from the public.
Those requests targeted the accounts of many prominent figures opposed to Brazil’s current government.
But over the past weeks, X started to comply by blocking a number of accounts that the Supreme Court is investigating for alleged misinformation and hate speech. Another demand was for X to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, which has also been done.
The issue of the fines, equivalent to $5.24 million, was the last remaining, but Moraes decided to further prolong the story by declaring that the money went to the wrong bank.
X, on the other hand, is denying that, with its lawyers continuing to ask that the platform be unblocked. They also don’t believe that the prosecutor general’s involvement is needed.
While the supposed mix-up regarding the money transfer is a delay tactic that only goes so far, bringing the prosecutor general into the picture could potentially complicate X’s attempts to return to Brazil in a more serious way – should that official, for example, come up with some new demands.
