Brazil gives Elon Musk's X green light for return

Brazil's Supreme Court has said it is lifting a ban on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

In his decision, Justice Alexandre de Moraes said that he authorised the "immediate return" of its activities in the country after it paid hefty fines and blocked accounts accused of spreading misinformation.

According to a statement, the site has paid fines totalling 28 million reais ($5.1m; £3.8m) and agreed to appoint a local representative, as required by Brazilian law.

Moraes had blocked access to the platform, owned by Elon Musk, after it had refused to ban several profiles deemed by the government to be spreading misinformation about the 2022 Brazilian Presidential election.

Anatel, Brazil's telecoms watchdog, has been instructed to ensure service has resumed for an estimated 20 million users in the country within 24 hours.

After months of ignoring the court’s orders, Mr Musk fired the company’s Brazilian staff in late August and closed X's office in Brazil.

A self-declared "free-speech absolutist", Musk had described Justice Moraes’ move to ban several dozen accounts as an abuse of power and a violation of free speech.

The ban on the platform saw millions of users move to alternatives, such as Bluesky, and demand for VPNs soar in the country.

"X is proud to return to Brazil," its government affairs team wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

"Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform was paramount throughout this entire process," it added.

Justice Moraes had accused X of undermining democracy by allowing accounts accused of spreading disinformation to continue publishing material.

It appears that X has now complied with all of the judge’s demands in order to have the ban lifted.