Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, formerly Twitter, has been granted permission by Brazil’s Supreme Court to recommence its operations in the country.
What Happened: On Tuesday, Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes confirmed that X had met all the necessary prerequisites to restart its operations in Brazil, reported Reuters.
In his ruling, Moraes directed Brazil’s telecommunications regulator Anatel to facilitate X’s return to online operations within 24 hours. However, as of 7 p.m. local time, users in Brazil were still unable to access the platform.
Following the decision, X’s Global Government Affairs handle on the platform said, “We will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law, everywhere we operate.”
This development follows a series of events that led to the suspension of X’s operations in Brazil. In late August, X was banned in Brazil due to a disagreement with a local judge over what Musk referred to as “censorship.”
However, the tech mogul began to shift his stance later. His platform started blocking accounts flagged by the court, appointed a local representative, and paid outstanding fines.
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Why It Matters: Previously, Meta Platforms, Inc.’s META Instagram and Facebook also faced regulatory challenges in Brazil, after the Latin American country prohibited it from using users’ posts to train its AI models
According to Statista, as of the third quarter of 2023, WhatsApp led Brazil’s social media usage, with 93.4% of the online population using the platform. Instagram followed at 91.2%, while Facebook was used by 83.3% of internet users.
TikTok and Facebook Messenger had 65.1% and 60.8% usage, respectively, with Pinterest, Telegram, Kuaishou, and Twitter capturing smaller portions of the market.
Meta introduced WhatsApp’s native payment feature in Brazil in June 2020, but it was blocked by the Central Bank due to authorization issues with Mastercard and Visa.
After nine months, person-to-person debit card transfers were allowed in March 2021, followed by credit card payments for small businesses in April 2023.
By June 2024, large companies could accept credit card payments, and Pix was added, marking a four-year journey to full availability.
Musk’s X also strives to become an “everything app,” which includes shopping and payment features.
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