Elon Musk's X Is Back in Brazil after Its Suspension, Having Complied with All Judicial Demands

Photo illustration of the logo of the social media platform X (former Twitter) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 30, 2024. (AFP)
Photo illustration of the logo of the social media platform X (former Twitter) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 30, 2024. (AFP)
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Elon Musk's X Is Back in Brazil after Its Suspension, Having Complied with All Judicial Demands

Photo illustration of the logo of the social media platform X (former Twitter) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 30, 2024. (AFP)
Photo illustration of the logo of the social media platform X (former Twitter) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 30, 2024. (AFP)

Social media platform X began returning to Brazil on Wednesday, after remaining inaccessible for more than a month following a clash between its owner, Elon Musk, and a justice on the country’s highest court.

Internet service providers began restoring access to the platform after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized lifting X’s suspension on Tuesday.

De Moraes ordered the shutdown of X on Aug. 30 after a monthslong dispute with Musk over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation.

Musk had disparaged de Moraes, calling him an authoritarian and a censor, although his rulings, including X’s nationwide suspension, were repeatedly upheld by his peers.

Musk’s company ultimately complied with all of de Moraes’ demands. They included blocking certain accounts from the platform, paying outstanding fines and naming a legal representative. Failure to do the latter had triggered the suspension.

Brazil — a highly online country of 213 million people — is one of X’s biggest markets, with estimates of its user base ranging from 20 million to 40 million.



New Body to Handle Disputes between EU Users and Facebook, TikTok, YouTube

Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram apps are seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/
Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram apps are seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/
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New Body to Handle Disputes between EU Users and Facebook, TikTok, YouTube

Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram apps are seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/
Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram apps are seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/

An independent body, supported by Meta Platforms' Oversight Board, has a certification from the media regulator in Ireland to resolve appeals against policy violation decisions of social media companies in the European Union, Reuters reported.
Formed as a certified out-of-court dispute settlement body under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA), Appeals Centre Europe will initially decide cases relating to Facebook, ByteDance's TikTok and Alphabet's YouTube, and will include more social media platforms over time.
With a team of experts, the body will apply human review to every case within 90 days, and decide whether platforms' decisions are consistent with their content policies, it said in a statement.
Dublin-based Appeals Centre, which has an one-time grant from the Oversight Board, will be funded through fees charged to social media companies for each case. Users who raise a dispute will pay a nominal fee, which will be refunded if decision is in their favor.
However, under the rules of DSA, providers of online platforms may refuse to engage with such dispute settlement body and it shall not have the power to impose a binding settlement of the dispute on the parties.
The former director of the Oversight Board, Thomas Hughes, is taking on a new role as the inaugural CEO of the Appeals Centre.
"We want users to have the choice to raise a dispute to a body that is independent from governments and companies, and focused on ensuring platforms' content policies are fairly and impartially applied," Hughes said.
The Appeals Centre will have a board of seven non-executive directors and will start receiving disputes from users before the end of the year.