After being banned in Brazil and losing over 20 million users, X has decided to comply with court orders that it defied weeks ago, making it possible for the social-media platform to return to the region and reinstate its largest user base in Latin America some time this week, according to X’s lawyers.
At the beginning of the month, Brazil’s Supreme Court upheld Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ order to ban X in the country after the social-media platform refused to name a legal representative, effectively costing the app its largest Latin American user base and subsequent ad dollars.
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The decision to officially ban the app in Brazil was unanimous among the five justices, who found that X was repeatedly spreading misinformation and harmful content that is in violation of the country's internet laws.
In April, Justice Moraes began investigating X owner Elon Musk for obstruction of justice after he publicly declared that he would not comply with a court order to suppress the accounts of seven commentators who Moraes believed to be spreading false reports and hate speech with regard to the current government and the outcome of Brazil's presidential election in 2022.
After three weeks of losses, X has decided to comply with the original requests, which Musk previously vowed not to. In complying, X has agreed to block the accounts in question, naming a new official representative in the country, in addition to paying fines.
X still must file the proper paperwork in order to regain access in the region.
Although he called Moraes a “dictator” on X, and then posted that the judge was “destroying” free speech “for political purposes,” Musk risked losing substantial market share and revenue by failing to comply with the justice and Brazil's Supreme Court -- a major threat to the longevity of the platform, especially having already tanked its ad revenue and brand equity since Musk's takeover in 2022.
After X was banned in Brazil, competitor apps such as Bluesky and Threads witnessed notable increases in traffic and user engagement. Bluesky, for example, experienced “all-time-highs for activity,” adding over 2 million new users in the four days following the X ban.
Starlink, Musk's satellite-internet service, lost $2 million as Brazil's Supreme Court used the company to cover fines it had issued against X.
X's case in Brazil mirrors previous situations in Turkey, India, and Germany, in which Musk's social network was forced to comply with orders to censor certain posts, which have aligned with the billionaire's personal political beliefs.