Elon Musk's X Reportedly Aims For Brazil Reentry, Backs Down From Censorship Dispute

Tesla Inc. and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly Twitter, is reportedly making efforts to re-establish its presence in Brazil.

What Happened: X has appealed to Brazil’s Supreme Court to revoke a ban on the platform, asserting its compliance with orders to control misinformation, reported Reuters, citing a document.

The platform was banned in late August following a disagreement with a local judge over what Musk referred to as “censorship.”

This legal tussle also impacted another Musk-owned business, Starlink, leading Musk to label Justice Alexandre de Moraes a “dictator.”

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While the court’s decision on X’s return is still pending, insiders close to Musk in Brazil anticipate that the service could be reinstated within days, the report noted.

In a statement on Thursday, X highlighted the importance of its presence in Brazil for a thriving democracy and pledged to uphold freedom of expression and due process of law.

X is committed to protecting free speech within the boundaries of the law and we recognize and respect the sovereignty of the countries in which we operate. We believe that the people of Brazil having access to X is essential for a thriving democracy, and we will continue to…

— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) September 27, 2024

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Why It Matters: Previously, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had criticized Musk’s ideological stand and stated, “The world is not obliged to put up with Musk’s far-right ideology just because he is rich.”

Earlier this month, after Musk’s companies paid $3.3 million in fines, Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Moraes lifted the freezes on Starlink and X bank accounts.

Meanwhile, despite Musk’s legal and operational difficulties in Brazil, other tech giants like Microsoft Corp. have made significant progress in the country.

The Satya Nadella-led company has pledged a $2.7 billion investment to nurture the AI ecosystem in Latin America’s largest economy.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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