Thought Leadership
The legal dispute between Elon Musk’s platform and the Brazilian judiciary is dragging on. Shortly before a possible end, there was a small glitch.
In the dispute over the blocking of the short messaging platform X in Brazil, tech billionaire Elon Musk’s company has transferred a million-euro fine – but to the wrong account. According to a statement from the Supreme Court (STF) on Friday evening (local time), the 28.6 million reais (4.77 million euros) ended up in an account at the Federal Savings Bank (Caixa Econômica Federal) and not at the Bank of Brazil. Federal judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered the savings bank to transfer the sum to the correct account.
Moraes ordered the shutdown of X in Latin America’s largest country on August 30. The news platform had previously missed a court-ordered deadline to appoint a legal representative. The company also refused to block the accounts of right-wing activists who spread conspiracy narratives and false information.
Requirements fulfilled
Following the referral on Friday, X again applied for the block to be lifted. According to the Supreme Court, the company provided evidence on September 27 that it had appointed the legal representative for Brazil and blocked the profiles.
Musk had accused Moraes of attacking freedom of speech and called him an “evil dictator”. The billionaire, who has been a prominent supporter of Republican ex-President Donald Trump in the US election campaign for some time, always presents himself as a defender of free speech. The federal judge had already opened an investigation against Musk himself in April for obstruction of justice and incitement to commit crimes.
dpa
