Brazil clears X for return after a monthlong ban

On Tuesday, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the country’s telecommunications agency Anatel to unblock X within 24 hours, writing that it has fulfilled “all the requirements necessary for the immediate return of activities.

However, this won’t mean an immediate return to service for the app. As noted by the Brazilian outlet Poder360, Anatel still needs to notify Brazil’s 20,000 different internet service providers to remove the restrictions, which will vary by the system they use.

Before capitulating in August to “court decisions to block certain popular accounts in Brazil,” the company had withdrawn its legal representative in the country, spurring the ban. Then, Justice de Moraes issued the ban on August 30th, giving Brazilian telecoms up to five days to prevent anyone in the country from accessing X.

In response to the news, X’s Global Government Affairs account said:

X is proud to return to Brazil. Giving tens of millions of Brazilians access to our indispensable platform was paramount throughout this entire process. We will continue to defend freedom of speech, within the boundaries of the law, everywhere we operate.

The platform might have been cleared sooner. It paid its fines last week, but after it requested permission to go live again, the court said X had remitted funds to the wrong bank, delaying its return a few more days while the funds were transferred to the right institution.