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 X returns to Brazil after a blackout of more than three weeks. And the social media platform was able to restore access to its 21 million users in the country.

CEO Elon Musk's Social Network X is back online in Brazil. This ends a months-long fight between the billionaire and Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

 The return of the platform comes following being shut down with bank accounts frozen and fines to both X and SpaceX by Judge de Moraes.

Brazil vs X

A May 2020 court order to block specific X accounts was the first warning in the dispute. Judge de Moraes determined that most of his political rivals were guilty of “hate speech” that targeted democratic institutions.

The flagged accounts belonged to political supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of Brazil.

It started when the judge demanded the social network block accounts from his political opposition claiming they were a risk to the nation's democratic fabric. 

Initially, X complied and removed the accounts. But in April, X’s Global Affairs account called the court’s orders illegal and said a year-long wait for an appeal had violated due process. Musk then threatened to reinstate the accounts, saying “principles matter more than profit.”

The X Global Affairs Dept summarized their criticisms against the “illegal orders” of the Brazilian Supreme Court.in a post.

At the time it seemed like Musk was ready to abandon one of the platform’s most significant markets.

X Returns to Brazil 

Last week The New York Times reported that X is starting to come back online for many people in Brazil. They were able to get online by moving to Cloudflare servers. Service is still inconsistent.

In the meantime, X is attempting to work out details for complying with the court orders. 

Judge Demands Speech Removed

In 2023, former president of Brazil  Bolsonaro was barred from running for office for eight years by the same court that halted access of X to Brazil.

Judge de Moraes found the former president guilty of abusing power and claimed he created a conspiracy that voting machines were compromised.

The judge is also leading an investigation into Bolsonaro’s role in the January 8, 2023, riots on Brasilia, the capital.

The judge wanted any online questioning of the party in power shut down. 

The feud between Musk and de Moraes has expanded far beyond the courts. It is now being characterized as a Censorship Vs. Free Speech issue.