Brazil's Highest Court: X Pays Fines To Wrong Banks

JAKARTA Brazil's Supreme Court announced on Friday 4 October that legal representatives of social media platform X had paid pending fines to the wrong bank. This delays the decision whether the platform can resume operations in Brazil.

Lawyer X, which is owned by Elon Musk, stated that the company has paid the fine correctly. However, this payment is the only requirement that has not been met to allow X to continue his services in Brazil.

Platform X has been suspended since late August 2024 in Brazil, one of its largest markets, for failing to comply with court orders regarding hate speech moderation and not appointing legal representatives in the country, as required by law.

On Friday, X submitted a new request to resume his services, stating that all pending fines had been paid. However, Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered that the fine payment be transferred to the correct bank.

After Moraes issued this decision, legal team X once again asked the court to grant permission to continue its operations in Brazil, denying that the company had paid a fine to the wrong account.

The company has fulfilled most court orders in recent weeks, including blocking several accounts under investigation. However, X still has to pay a fine of more than $5 million to lift its suspension of services in Brazil. On Friday, lawyer X reported to the court that the company had paid 28.6 million reais in the form of fines.