Thought Leadership
In the dispute with tech billionaire Elon Musk, Brazilian federal judge Alexandre de Moraes has ordered the collection of a fine due from the bank accounts of companies X and Starlink.
The amount of 18.35 million reais (2.98 million euros) has been transferred to the federal treasury, the Supreme Federal Court announced. The fine has thus been paid and the previously blocked accounts of the two Musk companies have been unblocked.
The penalty was imposed on X because the online platform refused to block user accounts on which false information was spread. The news platform also failed to meet a court-ordered deadline to appoint a legal representative. As a result, federal judge Moraes ordered the blocking of X in Brazil at the end of August.
Owner Musk accused the lawyer of attacking freedom of expression and described him as an “evil dictator”. Moraes had already initiated an investigation against Musk himself in April for obstruction of justice and incitement to commit crimes.
dpa
