If the dispute between the Brazilian judiciary and X founder Elon Musk over the moderation of the platform’s content were a film genre, it would undoubtedly be a comedy of intrigue, with a complex, smart plot and an unexpected ending.
Not only did Musk publicly exchange expletives with Brazilian Judge Alexandre de Moraes, but the resolution of the social media platform’s blocking in Brazil is now further delayed due to a mistake worthy of a comedy sketch. X’s lawyers paid the fine to the wrong bank.
Money? What are you talking about? According to The New York Times, in September, the Brazilian Supreme Court sentenced X to pay a fine of R$28.6 million (about $5.2 million) for violating regulations on spreading false news and hate speech. X’s lawyers were told to pay the fine into a bank account.
When X told the court that its debts had been paid and asked for permission to resume operations, the Brazilian Supreme Court informed Musk’s lawyers that the fine hadn’t been paid, according to Reuters.
Wrong bank account. Reuters also reported that, in response to the Supreme Court, the lawyers presented evidence of the fine’s transfer to a bank account. However, the issue arose when it was discovered that the R$28.6 million was sent to the wrong account at Caixa Econômica Federal, unrelated to the case.
Following this, De Moraes ordered the money to be transferred to the correct account, giving the company a new opportunity to pay the penalty. Once the payment is registered, the Brazilian Supreme Court will confirm receipt of the money, and De Moraes will then review X’s request to determine whether or not to lift the ban.
Paying the fine isn’t enough. Failure to pay the fine only prolongs X’s inactivity in Brazil, which has been ongoing since August despite Musk’s efforts to circumvent the legal ban.
After paying the fines, the Brazilian Supreme Court needs to verify that the social media company has made operational changes to comply with current laws regarding the spread of false news and hate speech. X will remain blocked in Brazil until all these requirements are met.
This isn’t the first time a similar situation has occurred. Now, X’s representatives must recover the money that someone has mistakenly received in its current account. Although it may seem an unlikely mistake to make because of the amount involved, the truth is that it has happened before. In 2013, for instance, an error in a PayPal transfer sent a second-hand parts seller $92.2 quadrillion.
Additionally, in 2020, Citigroup bank mistakenly sent $900 million to creditors of cosmetics company Revlon, according to Bussiness Insider. The bank spent the next two years litigating to try to recover the funds. Several creditors who had received the generous proceeds refused to return the money. Although the X incident is smaller in scale, Musk’s company may encounter the same problem.
Image | Rafaela Biazi| Thomas Hawk
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