X returns to some Brazilian users after company bends to court orders

Elon Musk’s X returned to Brazil this week, with the country’s telecommunications regulator ordering internet service providers to re-open access to the social media site. 

Some Brazilian X users started posting again Wednesday after over a month without the service. Brazil’s telecommunications regulator Anatel said it had begun ordering ISPs to restart service for X early Wednesday but that it will take time for the whole country to have access again. 

According to Anatel, the procedures for restarting service for a website like X differ between companies, meaning it could take a few days for everything to return to normal.

Still, the Brazilian users who could access X rejoiced Wednesday, with the phrase “we’re back” trending.

WE ARE FREE
💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚
💚💚💚💚💚💚💛💚💚💚💚💚💚
💚💚💚💚💛💛💛💛💛💚💚💚💚
💚💚💛💛💛💙💙💙💛💛💛💚💚
💚💛💛💛💙💙💙💙💙💛💛💛💚
💚💚💛💛💛💙💙💙💛💛💛💚💚
💚💚💚💚💛💛💛💛💛💚💚💚💚
💚💚💚💚💚💚💛💚💚💚💚💚💚
💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚 pic.twitter.com/z5Dck1Hlea

— out of context brazil 🇧🇷 (@oocbrazill) October 8, 2024

Brazil’s Supreme Court paved the way for X’s return to the country Tuesday evening, with Justice Alexandre De Moraes ordering Anatel to resume service. The judge issued the order after confirming that X had complied with the court’s demands. 

Justice De Moraes led the charge to ban the app in Brazil in late August after Mr. Musk and X refused to comply with Brazilian court orders to suspend accounts the government said were linked to misinformation and hate. Additionally, X refused to name a legal representative in Brazil to deal with the government’s requests. 

At the time, Mr. Musk and X harshly criticized the Brazilian court’s decision to ban X, with the billionaire calling Justice De Moraes a “tyrant.”

Yet X without comment proceeded to comply with the court’s orders this month. Mr. Musk has not commented on X’s return in Brazil or on X’s decision to obey the orders he previously called a threat to free speech. 

X’s return to Brazil follows the release of the company’s transparency report last month, the first of the Musk era. The report showed that under Mr. Musk’s leadership, the company complied with more takedown requests from governments than in previous years.