Recently, a panel of five Brazilian Supreme Court justices upheld a decision to limit access to X, the service formerly known as Twitter. This decision was made in response to the owner of X, Elon Musk, refusing to comply with court orders to block certain accounts and to identify a legal representative in the country.
Three of the five justices, Cristiano Zanin, Flávio Dino, and Cármen Lúcia, fully supported the ruling issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Meanwhile, a fourth justice, Luiz Fux, expressed reservations about imposing fines on individuals who bypass the ban using a VPN. Fux suggested that only those who post criminal messages, such as those promoting Nazism or fascism, should be penalized.
Impact of the Ban
Despite the ban on X, competing platforms have reported a significant increase in new accounts created by Brazilian users. This indicates that the ban may not be as effective in preventing access to social media platforms as intended. Additionally, news organization Poder360 has announced that its X account will be managed exclusively from Portugal in order to comply with the court’s decision.
Starlink, a satellite-based internet service operated by SpaceX and partially owned by Musk, has also been affected by the ban. The company has informed Brazil’s telecom regulator, Anatel, that it will not adhere to the ban until its assets are unfrozen. However, Justice de Moraes has blocked Starlink from conducting transactions in Brazil until it pays $3 million in unpaid fines.
The recent ban on X in Brazil has raised concerns about the effectiveness of such measures in regulating social media platforms. While the intention may be to curb the spread of harmful content, the ban seems to have prompted Brazilian users to seek alternative platforms. Additionally, the ban’s impact on companies like Starlink highlights the challenges faced by tech companies operating in countries with strict regulations. It remains to be seen how the situation will evolve and whether there will be any changes to the ban in the future.