Elon Musk owned social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is on the continuous mode with facing significant challenges in resuming operation in Brazil. Despite having efforts to comply with court order, the Brazil's Supreme Court recently postponed its decision on lifting its suspension.
The issue
Reportedly, the lawyers representing the platform X, paid its pending fine to the wrong bank.
The fine amounting over 28.6 million reais (monetary unit of Brazil), that is, USD 5.24 million, were initially disputed by X’s legal team, which claimed the payments had been made correctly. However, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes insisted that the payments be transferred to the correct account before any further steps could be taken.
Elon Musk agreed to pay fines in Brazil to have X's bank account unfrozen, but in a twist that’s hard to believe, the 'genius' wired the money to the wrong account! You really can't make this stuff up!
— David Nemer (@DavidNemer) October 4, 2024
Why X Was Suspended in Brazil
Since late August, the social media platform X, has been to unable to operate in Brazil as the platform was suspended for failing to comply with the legal requirements. The legal requirements includes the appointment of a local legal representative and addressing issues related to hate speech moderation.
Since X has one of the largest market in Brazil, these regulations are considered crucial in the country.
After reversing its earlier stance and following the court's orders, including the blocking of certain accounts under investigation, the platform had hoped to restore its services.
The Brazilian Supreme Court subpoenaed Twitter and Elon Musk using Twitter itself.
— Crazy Ass Moments in LatAm Politics (@AssLatam) August 29, 2024
The warrant mandates Musk's company to establish a legal representative in 24 hours or be suspended from Brazil. pic.twitter.com/a9864Ibr4V
On September 26, the company requested the court to allow operations to resume, stating it had paid the pending fines.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, however, maintained that the platform X’s resumption would only be possible once the outstanding fines were transferred to the appropriate bank. He further directed that Brazil's prosecutor general provide an opinion on the matter before any final decision could be made.
The social media handle X’s legal team, however, pushed back against this requirement, altercating that they had paid the fines correctly and questioned the necessity of consulting the prosecutor general before allowing the platform to resume services.