SAO PAULO (AP) — On Saturday, the closure of Elon Musk’s X platform began in Brazil, making it largely inaccessible on the internet and mobile applications. The measure was taken after the billionaire refused to appoint a legal representative in the country, thereby failing to meet a deadline imposed by Alexandre de Moraes, a judge at the Federal Supreme Court.
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Brazil is one of the largest markets for X, with tens of millions of users. The ban represents an intensification of a months-long dispute between Musk and De Moraes over freedom of speech, far-right accounts, and misinformation.
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A day disconnected for most users
"I have the feeling that I have no idea what is happening in the world right now. It's strange," wrote Chico Barney, a showbiz writer and regular user of X, in Threads. Threads is a text-based application developed by Instagram that Barney is using while X is being reactivated. "This Threads algorithm is like a restaurant where you can eat as much as you want, and the waiter keeps serving things that I would never ask for."
Ana Júlia Alves de Oliveira, an 18-year-old student, mentioned that many young people like her no longer watch the news or read newspapers, and rely solely on social media platforms like X for their news. "I have lost touch with what is happening in the world," the young woman states. "I also used to consume a lot of entertainment content there, so this is a new reality for me."
Bluesky, a social network launched last year to compete with X and other more well-known social networks, has experienced a significant increase in Brazilian users in the last two days. The company said on Friday that around 200,000 new users from Brazil have joined during that time, and that the number "continues to grow minute by minute."
X is not as popular in Brazil as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok. However, it remains an important social network for Brazilians, in which they participate in political debates, and is very influential among politicians, journalists, and other opinion makers.
What are the reasons for the suspension of X in Brazil?
De Moraes said that X will remain suspended until it complies with his orders, and also set a daily fine of 50,000 reais (8,900 dollars) for individuals or companies that use Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to access said platform. Some legal experts questioned the reasons behind that decision and how it would be enforced. Others suggested that the measure was authoritarian.
The Brazilian Bar Association said on Friday in a statement that it would ask the Supreme Federal Court to review the fines imposed on all citizens who use a VPN or other means to access X without due process. The Bar Association argued that sanctions should never be imposed summarily before ensuring that there is a legal process and the right to defense.
"I have used VPNs a lot in authoritarian countries like China to continue accessing news sites and social networks," said Maurício Santoro, a political science professor at the State University of Rio de Janeiro. "It never occurred to me that this type of tool would be banned in Brazil. It's dystopian."
"The tyrants want to turn Brazil into another communist dictatorship, but we will not give in. I repeat: do not vote for those who do not respect freedom of speech. Orwell was right," wrote right-wing deputy Nikolas Ferreira, one of the closest allies of former President Jair Bolsonaro, before access to X was blocked. Musk responded with an emoji indicating agreement: "100."
Ferreira is a 28-year-old YouTuber who received the most votes from the 513 federal legislators elected in the 2022 elections. De Moraes ordered the blocking of his social media accounts after a mob of Bolsonaro supporters attacked the Congress, the presidential palace, and the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court in January 2023 with the aim of annulling the elections.
Bolsonaro said on Saturday on Instagram that the suspension of X in Brazil was "another blow to our freedom and legal security... It not only affects our freedom of expression, but also undermines the confidence of international companies looking to operate on Brazilian soil."
On Friday, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva supported De Moraes' decision and criticized Musk for acting as if he were above the law during an interview with Radio MaisPB.
"Any citizen, from anywhere in the world, who has investments in Brazil is subject to the Constitution and Brazilian legislation. Therefore, if the Supreme Court has decided that citizens must comply with certain things, they must abide by it or take another course of action," said Lula. "Just because someone has a lot of money doesn't mean they can disrespect the Constitution."