Brazil takes $3.3 million fine from Elon Musk’s X and Starlink but X remains banned

Elon Musk’s X is still banned in Brazil, even after the country withdrew $3.3 million from both X’s and SpaceX-affiliated Starlink’s bank accounts in order to pay off fines. 

These fines are a result of Musk’s non-compliance with Brazil’s Supreme Court, as the X owner feuds with Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes over content on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

News spread on social media on Friday that Musk’s companies had paid the $3.3 million fine and, as a result, the Brazilian court had ordered that the “blockage” on Starlink and X be lifted. The initial reports caused some confusion among social media users as only Brazil’s blockage of Starlink’s and X’s bank accounts had been lifted. According to Bloomberg, the nationwide ban on X the social media platform, remains.

In addition, Musk’s companies did not actively pay the fine. On Wednesday, Brazil’s court ordered that these funds be transferred in order to satisfy the demand for fines.

Last month, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered that X the platform be banned in the country. This came after Musk refused to remove accounts that Moraes’ deemed to be breaking the country’s laws. As a result of this request, Musk pulled X representatives out of the country and refused to appoint a new legal representative, one of Moraes’ requirements.