X asks Brazil’s top court to allow it to resume services, source says

By Ricardo Brito

BRASILIA (Reuters) -Elon Musk-owned social media platform X has requested Brazil’s Supreme Court to allow it to resume service in the country, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

X was shut down in late August in Brazil, one of its largest and most coveted markets, after not complying with court orders related to hate speech moderation and failing to name a local legal representative, as required by law.

Musk had denounced the orders as censorship and vowed not to comply with them. But the platform started to reverse course last week, when lawyers for X in Brazil said the company had tapped a local legal representative and would follow court rulings.

X, the source said, sent the Supreme Court a document proving that it has formally signed lawyer Rachel de Oliveira Conceicao as its Brazil legal representative and blocked nine accounts under investigation in a hate speech and misinformation probe.

It also said that 18 million reais ($3.31 million) in a previously imposed fine had been paid, the source added.

X did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

($1 = 5.4339 reais)