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Brazil Blocks X, Imposes $12,000 CAD Daily Fine for VPN Access
Brazil began blocking access to Elon Musk’s X (was Twitter) on Saturday, making it largely inaccessible on both the web and mobile apps.
The move followed Musk’s refusal to appoint a legal representative in the country, escalating a months-long dispute between the billionaire and Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes over issues of free speech, misinformation, and far-right accounts.
De Moraes ordered the suspension on Friday, prompting Brazil’s telecommunications regulator, Anatel, to instruct internet service providers to cut off access to the platform. Brazil has about 40 million monthly users on X.
The dispute began after Musk missed a deadline set by de Moraes to name a local representative, a requirement under Brazilian law. De Moraes accused Musk of disregarding Brazilian sovereignty and the judiciary, stating in his decision that Musk was acting as if he were above the law.
X will remain suspended until it complies with the order, with a daily fine of 50,000 reais (about $12,000 CAD) for individuals or companies using VPNs to access it. Some legal experts have raised concerns about the basis for the decision and its enforceability, while others have criticized the move as authoritarian.
Brazilians are shifting to other X alternatives such as Meta’s Threads and Bluesky. On Friday, Bluesky said it saw about 200,000 new users from Brazil sign up, with the number growing by the minute.
On Friday, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva supported de Moraes’ decision to block X and criticized Musk for acting as if he were above the law. In an interview with Radio MaisPB, Lula stated, “Any citizen, from anywhere in the world, who has investments in Brazil, is subject to the Brazilian Constitution and laws. If the Supreme Court issues a decision, citizens must comply or find another course of action. Having a lot of money does not give someone the right to disrespect our laws,” reports the Associated Press.
This meme never gets old 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/m8wWH9ermL
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 31, 2024
Musk has been responding on X, saying, “Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purposes.” He also continued to share memes mocking Brazils’ decision on X.
“There is growing evidence that fake judge @Alexandre engaged in serious, repeated & deliberate election interference in Brazil’s last presidential election. Under Brazilian law, that would mean up to 20 years in prison. And, I’m sorry to say that it appears that some former Twitter employees were complicit in helping him do so. Anyone with examples or evidence to this effect, please reply to this post,” said Musk on Saturday night.
X also launched an account called the Alexandre Files, which will “begin shining a light on the abuses of Brazilian law committed by Alexandre de Moraes.”
Back on August 8, de Moraes ordered X to block seven accounts in Brazil, “within two hours and in secret.” X did not comply with the order, which kicked off this fight.
In retaliation to its fight with X, Brazil also froze the finances of SpaceX’s Starlink in the country. Musk said Starlink would remain free during the dispute, to keep those in remote places online.
This fight between X and Brazil looks far from over. Time to grab the extra large popcorn, folks.
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They should do the same with Meta and TIkTok. In fact, TikTok is more destructive than Twitter/X.
Why does the authoritarian left always go for suppression and control of speech as their first step? Seems they’ve been able to convince many soft-headed people that it’s the right thing to do, even when it it is clearly done in order to cover up government abuse, corruption or criminal activity against citizens.
When young people say they tend to agree with restrictions and limitations on speech, usually to protect people’s feelings, are they really so dumb that they don’t recognize how dangerous that is?
It has nothing to do with suppression of free speech. It's about the sovereignty of a nation and its rules. Musk has repeatedly ignored court orders pertaining to the regulation of anti-democratic and electoral misinformation on the platform and, most recently, removed all business representation for Twitter/X in Brazil, which makes operating there illegal. If the Brazilian Supreme Court didn't take this latest measure, it would be viewed as a court unable to enforce its rulings and lose legitimacy in the eyes of the public, and even those who believe the ruling was extreme agree that, given the circumstances, it was the only decision the court could have made.
LOL.
What a very nice way to try to frame suppression of speech and a politically compromised and corrupt judiciary as necessary.
In Brazil, just saying that might be enough to have de Moraes make up a new law to silence dissent.
There are other ministers on the court who voted unanimously today to back his decision. And misinformation is not dissent (as much as some would like to defend the right to lie online, I think we both know the difference).
Did anyone expect ministers from the same corrupt party not to support their boy?
de Moraes only ever goes after “misinformation” when it runs counter to The Party. It’s strange it’s all of his political enemies that all seem to be on the run side of his laws. Good to be a SC judge.
None of your feelings about Alexandre de Moraes change the fact that a foreign business can't operate without an office in Brazil, which is where Twitter/X currently stands.
Certainly not if they don’t bow to secret orders to suppress speech of political enemies. Daylight is always the enemy.
Edit: Also, there’s this brand new thing. It’s called the internet. A person can view content from anywhere in the world and anyone in the world can make their content available everywhere in the world. No business office/speech police needed in every country in the world. You should check it out.
Now, some govs don’t like that. They’ll create laws and requirements that allow them to dictate and control who and what their citizens can access. They’ll bizarrely require companies to set up in-country to ensure they can physically force obedience on what speech to allow. They’ll block info they don’t approve. They’ll call it dangerous misinformation and a threat to their people. China, Cuba, Iran, Russia, Venezuela. Some esteemed company there.