SAO PAULO (AP) 鈥� The Brazilian Supreme Court's Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Tuesday authorized the restoration of social media platform X麓s service in , over a month after its nationwide shutdown, according to a court document that was made public.
Elon Musk鈥檚 X was blocked on Aug. 30 in the highly online country of 213 million people 鈥� and one of X鈥檚 biggest markets, with estimates of its user base ranging from 20 to 40 million. De Moraes ordered the shutdown after a over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. Musk had disparaged de Moraes, calling him an authoritarian and a censor, even though his rulings, including X鈥檚 suspension, were repeatedly upheld by his peers.
Despite Musk's public bravado, X ultimately complied with all of de Moraes' demands. They included blocking certain accounts from the platform, paying outstanding fines and naming a legal representative in the country. Failure to do the latter had triggered the suspension.
鈥淭he resumption of (X)鈥檚 activities on national territory was conditioned, solely, on full compliance with Brazilian laws and absolute observance of the Judiciary's decisions, out of respect for national sovereignty,鈥� de Moraes said in the court document.
鈥淴 is proud to return to Brazil,鈥� the company said in a statement posted on its Global Government Affairs account. "Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform was paramount throughout this entire process. We will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law, everywhere we operate.鈥�
Just two days before the ban, on Aug. 28, X said it 鈥渆ffective immediately,鈥� saying de Moraes had threatened with arrest its legal representative in the country, Rachel de Oliveira Villa Nova Concei莽茫o, if X did not comply with orders to block accounts.
Brazilian law requires foreign companies to have a local legal representative to receive notifications of court decisions and swiftly take any requisite action 鈥� particularly, in X鈥檚 case, the takedown of accounts. Concei莽茫o was first named X鈥檚 legal representative in April and resigned four months later. The company named her to the same job on Sept. 20, according to the public filing with the Sao Paulo commercial registry.
In an apparent effort to shield Concei莽茫o from potential violations by X 鈥� and risking arrest 鈥� a clause has been written into Concei莽茫o鈥檚 new representation agreement that she must follow Brazilian law and court decisions, and that any legal responsibility she assumes on X鈥檚 behalf requires prior instruction from the company in writing, according to the company鈥檚 filing.
Concei莽茫o works for BR4Business, a business services firm. Its two-page website provides no insight into its operations or staff. 鈥淪omething great is on its way,鈥� the top of the site鈥檚 main page reads in English. Its other page is an extensive privacy policy.
At three of its listed Sao Paulo offices, receptionists told the AP that the company鈥檚 offices are empty and employees work remotely. Neither Concei莽茫o nor BR4Business returned multiple phone calls and emails from the AP.
There is nothing illegal or suspect about using a company like BR4Business for legal representation, but it shows that X is doing the bare minimum to operate in the country, said Fabio de Sa e Silva, a lawyer and associate professor of International and Brazilian Studies at the University of Oklahoma.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 demonstrate an intention to truly engage with the country. Take Meta, for example, and Google. They have an office, a government relations department, precisely to interact with public authorities and discuss Brazil鈥檚 regulatory policies concerning their businesses,鈥� Silva added.
Indeed, it is rare for an established, influential company such as X to have only a legal representative, said Carlos Affonso Souza, a lawyer and director of the Institute for Technology and Society, a Rio-based think tank. And that could be problematic going forward.
鈥淭he concern now is what comes next and how X, once back in operation, will manage to meet the demands of the market and local authorities without creating new tensions,鈥� he said.
Some of , such as Meta鈥檚 Threads and, primarily, Bluesky. It鈥檚 unclear how many of them will return to X. In a statement to the AP, Bluesky reported that it now has 10.6 million users and continues to see strong growth in Brazil. Bluesky has appointed a legal representative in the South American country.
Brazil was not the first country to ban X 鈥� far from it 鈥� but such a drastic step has generally been limited to authoritarian regimes. The platform and its former incarnation, Twitter, have been banned in Russia, China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Venezuela and Turkmenistan. Other countries, such as , Turkey and Egypt, have also temporarily suspended X before, usually to quell dissent and unrest.
X鈥檚 dustup with Brazil has some parallels to the company鈥檚 dealings with the Indian government three years ago, back when it was still called Twitter and before Musk purchased it for $44 billion. In 2021, (as well as Meta鈥檚 Facebook and WhatsApp), for not complying with the government鈥檚 requests to take down posts related to farmers鈥� protests that rocked the country.
Musk鈥檚 decision to reverse course in Brazil after publicly criticizing de Moraes isn鈥檛 surprising, said Matteo Ceurvels, research firm Emarketer鈥檚 analyst for Latin America and Spain.
鈥淭he move was pragmatic, likely driven by the economic consequences of losing access to millions of users in its third-largest market worldwide, along with the millions of dollars in associated advertising revenue,鈥� Ceurvels said. 鈥淎lthough X may not be a top priority for most advertisers in Brazil, the platform needs them more than they need it.鈥�
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Ortutay reported from San Francisco
Gabriela S谩 Pessoa And Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press
