Brazil’s Supreme Court announced on Friday that lawyers representing the social media platform X did not make pending fine payments to the correct bank. As a result, the court has postponed its decision regarding whether to allow the tech company to resume operations in Brazil.
Outstanding Fines as a Barrier to Resumption
The payment of these fines is the only requirement that the court has set for X to be authorized to operate again in the country. Lawyers for X maintained that the company had made the payments correctly.
X has been suspended since late August in Brazil, a significant market for the platform. The suspension occurred due to non-compliance with court orders concerning hate speech moderation and the failure to appoint a legal representative in Brazil, as mandated by law.
Recent Developments and Requests
Earlier on the same day, X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, submitted a new request to restore its services in Brazil, asserting that it had settled all outstanding fines. In response, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes instructed that the payment needs to be transferred to the appropriate bank.
Moraes also stated that once the fines are resolved, Brazil’s prosecutor general will provide input on the recent requests from X’s legal team, which is pushing to reinstate the platform in the country.
After Moraes’ ruling, X’s lawyers once again sought court approval to resume operations, asserting that the company had not paid the fines to the wrong account. They expressed that there was no need for the prosecutor general’s consultation before lifting the ban.
Previously, on September 26, X had requested the court to lift the suspension after complying with various orders from the top court, including blocking certain accounts under investigation. At that time, Moraes ruled that X needed to pay just over $5 million in outstanding fines before the suspension could be lifted.
On Friday, X’s lawyers informed the Supreme Court that the company had paid 28.6 million reais (approximately $5.24 million) in fines.