Brazilian top court lifts blockages on X and Starlink after $3 million transfer

Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes decided to lift blockages previously imposed on Starlink and X accounts after ordering the transfer of 18.35 million reais ($3.31 million) from the accounts to the country’s national coffers, according to a report by Reuters.

The lift was ordered because the amount transferred to Brazil’s coffers reached the total X owed the country in fines, which had been imposed amid a feud between billionaire Elon Musk and Moraes, according to a court statement on Friday.

Musk controls both X and Starlink.

As billionaire Elon Musk’s clash with a Brazilian Supreme Court justice came to a head last month, there were legal twists, insults, ultimatums, defiance and then, finally, capitulation. When the digital dust settled, X had become an ex.

More from World

Nepal's new PM pays homage to people died during the Gen Z protest in her first national address This Week in Explainers: How recovering from Gen-Z protests is a Himalayan task for Nepal

Musk’s social media platform was banned nationwide and Justice Alexandre de Moraes set a whopping $9,000 daily fine for anyone using a virtual private network (VPN) to skirt the suspension. Brazil’s X users, left casting about for a new platform, mostly started washing up on Threads and Bluesky.

X had 22 million users in Brazil, according to estimates in the Digital 2024: Brazil report, just one-sixth the number on Instagram, and about one-fifth of Facebook or TikTok.

With inputs from agencies.