Brazil’s top Supreme Court justice unfroze bank accounts of Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service provider and social media platform X on Friday, after taking more than $3 million in fines imposed by the South American nation.
The move comes after Justice Alexandre de Moraes earlier this month upheld a ban on X within the country.
The temporary ban was imposed by the court in late August after Musk didn’t name a legal representative before a deadline in a case going back months in which the country demanded some social media platforms, including X, be suspended that had been implicated in probes of so-called digital militias accused of spreading misinformation and hate.
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The court said Friday that the X ban in the county will remain in place until a legal representative is named.
Musk has called out de Moraes multiple times from his X account, saying that « he should be impeached for violating his oath of office » and it’s « only a matter of time before this criminal is behind bars, » and calling him a « dictator. »
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He previously wrote: « X is the most used news source in Brazil. It is what the people want. Now, the tyrant de Voldemort is crushing the people’s right to free speech. »
In the decision, de Moraes ordered the full and immediate suspension of X in the country until all related court orders on X were complied with, including the payment of the fine and the nomination of a legal representative in Brazil.
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Musk owns X and 42% of Starlink’s parent company, SpaceX.
X did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
Reuters contributed to this report.