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The social media platform X began returning to Brazil on Wednesday, after remaining inaccessible for more than a month due to a clash between its owner, Elon Musk, and a justice<\/a><\/span> on the country\u2019s highest court.<\/p>\n Internet service providers began restoring access to the platform after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized lifting X\u2019s suspension<\/a><\/span> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cTWITTER IS ALIVE,\u201d Lucas dos Santos Consoli, known as luscas on X, wrote on the platform to his more than 7 million followers.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m happy that the platform decided to follow the laws of Brazil and finally adapted, after all I\u2019ve been using the app for almost 15 years so I can\u2019t deny that I was missing it,\u201d the 31-year-old told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n De Moraes ordered the shutdown of X on Aug. 30<\/a><\/span> after a monthslong dispute with Musk over free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation. Musk had disparaged de Moraes, calling him an authoritarian and a censor, although his rulings, including X\u2019s nationwide suspension, were repeatedly upheld by his peers.<\/p>\n Musk\u2019s company ultimately complied with all of de Moraes\u2019 demands. They included blocking certain accounts from the platform, paying outstanding fines and naming a legal representative. Failure to do the latter had triggered the suspension.<\/p>\n \u201cThis sends a message to the world that the richest person on the planet is subject to local laws and constitutions,\u201d said David Nemer, who specializes in the anthropology of technology at the University of Virginia. It could set a precedent as to how other countries that are clashing with Musk \u2014 such as Australia<\/a><\/span> \u2014 could move forward, as it shows Musk is not unbeatable, he added.<\/p>\n Brazil \u2014 a highly online country of 213 million people \u2014 is one of X\u2019s biggest markets, with estimates of its user base ranging from 20 million to 40 million.<\/p>\n \u201cX is proud to return to Brazil,\u201d the company said in a statement posted on its Global Government Affairs account. \u201cGiving 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Julia Bahri, an 18-year-old law student, said she was delighted with X\u2019s return. She said that losing access to the platform had led to \u201cone of the most desperate feelings I\u2019ve experienced for a while,\u201d adding that she had felt lost with regards to news.<\/p>\n Bahri said she uses X to express herself, whereas Instagram and Snapchat are mostly for posting photos.<\/p>\n The Aug. 30 ban came two days after the company said it was removing all its remaining staff in Brazil<\/a><\/span>. X said de Moraes had threatened to arrest its legal representative in the country, Rachel de Oliveira Villa Nova Concei\u00e7\u00e3o, if the company did not comply with orders to block accounts.<\/p>\n Brazilian law requires foreign companies to have a local legal representative to receive notifications of court decisions and swiftly take any requisite action \u2014 particularly, in X\u2019s case, the takedown of accounts.<\/p>\n Sleeping Giants Brazil, a platform for activism that seeks to combat fake news and hate speech, said the resumption of X\u2019s activities in Brazil marked \u201ca significant victory for Brazilian democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is crucial to remain steadfast against efforts to weaken democratic state authority, institutions and values,\u201d it said in a statement.<\/p>\n Some of Brazilian X\u2019s users have migrated to other platforms<\/a><\/span>, such as Meta\u2019s Threads and, primarily, Bluesky. It\u2019s unclear how many of them will return to X.<\/p>\n In a statement to the AP, Bluesky reported that it now has 10.6 million users and continues to see strong growth in Brazil. Bluesky has appointed a legal representative in the South American country.<\/p>\n \u201cNever get back with your eX,\u201d Paul Frazee, a developer at Bluesky, wrote on the platform on Tuesday.<\/p>\n X is returning to Brazil weaker than it was before the ban, said Nemer, noting that X is now worth less than a fifth than when Musk bought Twitter. The platform has lost a lot of users, especially in Brazil, he said.<\/p>\n Brazil was not the first country to ban X \u2014 but such a drastic step has generally been limited to authoritarian regimes. The platform and its former incarnation, Twitter, have been banned in Russia, China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Venezuela and Turkmenistan. Other countries, such as Pakistan<\/a><\/span>, Turkey and Egypt, have also temporarily suspended X before, usually to quell dissent and unrest.<\/p>\n\n