Social media site X attempts to pay fine in bid to resume service in Brazil

Brazil, home to more than 21 million users, suspended X after it failed to comply with court orders and pay fines.

The social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, has attempted to pay fines owed to the Brazilian government in a bid to resume services in the country.

But the Reuters news agency reported on Friday that Brazil’s Supreme Court has yet to lift the site’s suspension, saying the fees were deposited into the wrong bank account.

“The deposit of the amount of 28,600,000 reais [$5.24m] was not made correctly in the account linked to these proceedings,” Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said.

The announcement was the latest hiccup in an ongoing spat between X owner Elon Musk and the Brazilian government.

Earlier in the day, X had filed a request to resume operations in Brazil, on the basis that it had paid its fines.

“X Brasil requests that the platform be unblocked for free access by its users in national territory,” the filed document states.

The site was suspended in August after it failed to comply with court orders regarding content moderation and in-country legal representation.

The case has sparked debate over free speech and what steps can be taken to address the spread of false claims online.

The payment, however, is the latest sign that X may be relaxing its opposition to the requirements for operating in Brazil, one of the site’s largest sources of users.

The data firm Statista says that X had more than 21 million users in Brazil as of April.

X faced fines of more than $5m for its failure to comply with the court orders earlier this year.

The Supreme Court had requested the social media company take action to restrict accounts linked to misinformation and far-right figures accused of undermining Brazil’s elections.

It also said X failed to appoint a legal representative in the country, a requirement for companies based abroad.

At first, Musk and X appeared poised to resist the suspension, denouncing it as censorship and accusing de Moraes of issuing “illegal orders”.

Musk, who has embraced far-right politics, also called de Moraes an “evil dictator cosplaying as a judge” after X was ordered to increase its moderation of false claims on its site.

The billionaire entrepreneur has previously weighed in on Brazilian politics, expressing support for former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro — another figure who has clashed with de Moraes over false election claims.

While Musk has portrayed himself as a champion of free speech, X has generally become more accommodating to government requests to take down content since the billionaire bought the social media site.

Reports indicate X complied with nearly 99 percent of requests from countries like Turkey and India during the first six months of Musk’s ownership, spurring fears that governments could be silencing their critics on the platform.

In recent weeks, X has made overtures to the Brazilian government in a bid to lift its suspension.

In September, the site restricted access to a series of accounts linked to misinformation and took steps to appoint legal representatives in the country, asking for user access to be reinstated in return.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies