The Brazilian judge makes new requests to allow X's reinstatement from suspension

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Friday added conditions for restoring the service of Elon Musk's legal representative.

De Moraes said in a ruling that X should only be reinstated Brazil after another company linked to the billionaire, satellite internet service provider Starlink, withdrew its appeals in connection with the case. X was blocked in Brazil for almost a month. De Moraes ordered the closure after months of arguments with Musk over free speech, far-right depictions and misinformation.

Earlier this month, de Moraes ordered Starlink's assets to be used to cover X's already excessive fines 3 million dollars. The Brazilian judiciary argued that the two companies were part of the same economic group – a reasoning that was questioned by some legal experts.

His new sentence also imposed a fine of 10 million Brazilian reais ($1.84 million). Experts who know the IP addresses of

X said it had switched its servers to customers in Latin America, which accidentally brought the social media network back online in Brazil.

A source familiar with the judge's decision told The Associated Press that both of de Moraes' conditions were new. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

De Moraes also accepted the company's newly appointed legal representative. The company's lack of a legal representative in the country was the trigger for his decision to block the social media channel on August 30.

The company has clashed with de Moraes since the beginning of the year about free speech, far-right accounts and misinformation on the platform and claims to be a victim of censorship.

Musk and his supporters have called de Moraes an authoritarian and a censor for his judgments, but his colleagues have repeatedly endorsed them – including the nationwide suspension of X. On August 28, X said so all remaining Brazilian personnel in the country were withdrawn “With immediate effect,” de Moraes said he had threatened his legal representative in the country with arrest.

The company has made a U-turn in recent days. On Thursday, X de Moraes submitted relevant documents had followed all his decisions and called for its reactivation in Brazil, according to sources familiar with the decision who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

X was blocked in the highly online country of 213 million people, where it was one of X's largest markets with more than 20 million users. Brazil has more restrictive speech rules than the United States.

X said in a statement Thursday that it is “committed to protecting free expression within the limits of the law and we recognize and respect the sovereignty of the countries in which we operate.”

“We believe that the Brazilian population's access to

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AP writer David Biller reported from Rio de Janeiro