Brazil hits Elon Musk’s “X” with new $1.8 million fine

Brazil's Supreme Court is ordering “X” to pay just over $5 million in penalties – including a new fine of nearly $2 million – before the country finally lifts its ban on the platform.

“X” told the Brazilian government earlier this week that it was now complying with court orders – as owner Elon Musk reportedly quietly de-escalated his crusade against what he saw as censorship.

The South American country threatened to ban the app for a number of accounts it accused of spreading lies and hate speech. Musk agreed to suspend nine accounts in addition to the fine.

Of the $5 million requested by the Brazilian government, $3.4 million comes from outstanding fines previously ordered and $1.8 million is a new fee, as the site last week for some Brazilians was available for a short time.

An update to communications networks on Wednesday, September 18 allowed some of Brazil's 21.5 million users to regain access to the platform for just a few hours. “X” said the action was “unintentional” and the service was quickly shut down.

A source close to “X” told Reuters that the tech giant would likely pay all the fines to resolve the dispute.

To comply with the court's original orders, “X” said it blocked nine accounts that were under investigation for hate speech or misinformation.

Musk – a self-proclaimed free speech fighter – defied the orders for nearly five months until “X” was completely banned in the South American country in late August.

His fight against the perceived threat to free speech included a meme campaign against Judge Alexandre de Moraes – whom Elon regularly mocked on “X” in the weeks before and after the ban.

The same judge then blocked one of the bank accounts of Starlink, a Musk corporation, on the grounds that it was used to pay the initial fines imposed on “X”. This led to Musk calling the judge a “dictator,” escalating the feud that has since boiled over.

Starlink has appealed the decision to freeze their account – although the court is asking Musk to drop that appeal as part of the “X's” upcoming reinstatement.

Sources close to Musk believe the issue could be resolved within days and the platform's sixth-largest user base would regain access to the service.