Brazil: Issued Supreme Court Decision Obliging X to Pay Fines for Ban Lifting

On 27 September 2024, the Supreme Federal Court (STF) of Brazil issued an order reinstating the need of X to pay the pending fine of BRL 18'350'000 (ca. USD 3.4 Mio.) and issuing a new fine of BRL 10’000’000 (ca. USD 1.8 Mio.). The STF decision recognises that X had complied with certain conditions for its unblocking, such as blocking certain accounts and appointing a legal representative, but makes clear that the stated penalties must be paid before the lifting of the platform's suspension. The first penalty was set due to the companies' non-compliance with court orders, specifically X's failure to remove content during investigations and its removal of Brazilian legal representatives, which resulted in the platform's suspension. X had stated that they complied with the orders of the ban, but the Court found that X must still pay the fine before being allowed to resume its services in Brazil. The additional fine of BRL 10’000’000 relates to a period in the previous week when X became available for a short time to users in Brazil, thereby violating the ban.