With Elon Musk steering the ship, Twitter has faced its share of rough waters lately.
Users have been vocal on the platform, airing their grievances about what they see as unnecessary changes, but the situation in Brazil is a different level of chaos altogether.
Twitter’s Suspension in Brazil
Since late August, Twitter has been suspended across the entire nation of Brazil.
This drastic action was taken due to Twitter’s failure to comply with court orders related to hate speech moderation.
Additionally, the platform failed to present a legal representative in the country, which is a requirement under Brazilian law.
According to a report by Reuters, paying off the fines is the final step needed for Twitter to get the green light to operate in the country again.
Payment Mix-Up Delays Reinstatement
On October 4, Twitter submitted a new request to have its services restored in Brazil, claiming that it had settled all the outstanding fines.
However, things took a surprising turn when it was discovered that the payment had been made to the wrong bank.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes responded to Twitter’s request by insisting that the payment needed to be transferred to the correct bank.
Moraes pointed out that Twitter had mistakenly paid 28.6 million reais (approximately $5.24 million) in fines to the wrong financial institution, which meant any decision on their reinstatement would have to be delayed.
Dispute Over Payment and Legal Challenges
Twitter’s legal team has disputed these claims, insisting that they had made the payments correctly.
They argued that no additional input from the prosecutor general was necessary for the platform to be reinstated.
Meanwhile, Twitter has faced other legal hurdles in Brazil as well. The company recently shut down its office in the country after its representative was threatened with arrest for failing to comply with court orders.
Both Elon Musk and the company have accused the judge of political bias.
They claim that the judge’s orders to block accounts spreading misinformation—mainly those of supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro—are influenced by political motivations.
Those caught using a VPN (virtual private network) to bypass the restrictions faced daily fines of nearly $9,000.
This hefty fine is more than the average annual income of many Brazilian citizens, making the consequences of using Twitter even more severe.
