Justice Alexandre de Moraes has imposed an additional fine of 10.3 million reais (approximately $3.36 million) on Elon Musk’s X platform, which must be paid before the company can resume operations in Brazil.
This fine comes on top of a previously imposed penalty of 18.35 million reais, which was directly withdrawn from the company’s bank account. The new fine was issued because X continued to operate for two days after the court had banned it, violating the imposed restrictions.
Last week, Moraes ruled that X could return to operating in Brazil but only after settling the new fine. Earlier in the month, Brazilian courts had already frozen and withdrawn 18.35 million reais from the accounts of X and Starlink due to previous non-compliance with court orders.
The court had control over these accounts to ensure payment of fines, but the new penalty will require X to pay directly, unlike the earlier automatic withdrawal.
The conflict between X and Brazilian authorities traces back to April, when Moraes ordered the platform to block 100 accounts accused of spreading misinformation and hate speech. Musk, who promotes free speech, refused to comply with this order, prompting the court to initiate legal action against X and Musk himself.
Elon Musk
Musk escalated tensions by closing X’s offices in Brazil, leaving the company without a required local representative, which led to a deadline being set for compliance.
When X failed to meet the court’s deadline, the platform was officially banned in Brazil. Most network providers complied with the order, but Starlink, also owned by Musk, allowed access to X for an additional two days.
This action resulted in the court freezing the assets of both X and Starlink to ensure penalties were enforced. Despite Musk’s protests, including threats of retaliatory action, the court remained firm, withdrawing the necessary funds from the companies’ accounts.
Now, X faces the requirement of paying a new 10.3 million reais fine before it can legally operate again in Brazil. While Musk has not yet commented on this latest development, his past behavior suggests he may resist complying with the fine, potentially leading to further disputes with Brazilian courts.
His previous responses have framed the legal actions as unjust censorship, and it remains to be seen how he will navigate this latest challenge.
