Brazilian Judge Slaps Elon Musk With $3 Million Fine Over Legal Violations on X

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of Brazil ruled that an order of $3 million from companies owned by Elon Musk must be used to serve to pay fines since his social network X (formerly Twitter) is suspended in the country.

Earlier this month, Judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered the closure of X in Brazil after inquiring that Elon Musk did not remove the right-wing accounts and failed to name a new legal representative in the country as ordered.

The court said Moraes chose to take 18.35 million reais ($3.28 million) from X and Starlink accounts held by Musk to the state.

Moraes Repeatedly Clashed With Elon Musk

Moraes has repeatedly clashed with the South African-born billionaire as he remains fixated on fighting the spread of misinformation. He also froze the assets of X and Starlink that have worked in Brazil since 2022, especially in far-flung Amazon communities, making sure that X pays fines for failing to comply with court orders.

X Has More Than 22 Million Users In Brazil

The micro-blogging site, which was formerly known as Twitter, boasts more than 22 million users in Brazil. Moraes explained further that those using VPNs and other means to access the blocked site may be fined as much as $9,000.

His moves have ignited discussion about freedom of speech and the limits of social networks, not only in Brazil but also internationally. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the leftist leader who took over from Jair Bolsonaro, has been on record in support of Moraes' ban, while the far-right predecessor termed Moraes a "dictator."

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