Brazil Suspends Access to Elon Musk’s X, Including via VPNs – Source: www.databreachtoday.com

Election Security
,
Fraud Management & Cybercrime
,
Geo Focus: Brazil

Supreme Court Set to Review Ban, After X Failed to Appoint a Legal Representative

Mathew J. Schwartz (euroinfosec) •
September 2, 2024    

Brazil has begun blocking domestic access to social platform X after the company failed to comply with multiple court orders tied to combating disinformation campaigns.

See Also: OnDemand | Best Practices to Safeguard Your Brand and Your Customers’ Digital Identity (in Portuguese)

The social platform recently counted tens of millions of users in Brazil, which is South America’s most populous and prosperous country.

The government said access to X will be restored once the company complies with its legal requirements, which include appointing a legal representative in the country, and paying a fine of 18 million reals – approximately $3.2 million – imposed over its non-compliance.

A five-member panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court plans to review the ban on Monday, reported Reuters.

The ban follows the Brazilian government Wednesday subpoenaing X, requiring that it appoint a legal representative in the country within 24 hours.

The company failed to comply, leading Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes on Friday to order the country’s National Telecommunications Agency to “immediately” suspend the operations of X in Brazil “until all court orders issued in these proceedings are complied with, fines are duly paid and a legal or natural person representing the company in the national territory is appointed in court,” according to a machine translation of his order.

Within five days, Judge Moraes ordered, the country’s internet service providers must “insert technological obstacles capable of making the use of the application ‘X’ unfeasible.” The order also threatens any “individuals and legal entities” that use “technological subterfuges” such as VPNs to continue to access or provide access to X, with a daily fine worth $9,000, as well as potential civil and criminal sanctions.

“We have a right to defend fundamental rights,” Moraes said in a Friday speech that didn’t name X, Reuters reported. “Those who violate democracy, who violate fundamental human rights, whether in person or through social media, must be held accountable.”

Judge Moraes’ order initially required Apple and Google in Brazil “to insert technological obstacles” designed to block iOS and Android users in Brazil from accessing the X application, or downloading it from the Apple Store or Google Play Store. The order also required VPN providers – such as “Proton VPN, Express VPN, NordVPN, Surfshark, TotalVPN, Atlas VPN, Bitdefender VPN” – to introduce technological measures designed to prevent in-country users from accessing X.

Later Friday, Moraes updated the order, suspending the requirements for Apple, Google and the other third parties, “to avoid any potential unnecessary disruptions” for the companies, pending the government receiving “a statement” from X and Musk, reported the Guardian.

Moraes has been investigating misinformation and disinformation campaigns targeting Brazilians, including the efforts of a “digital militia” that seeks to restore the ousted, far-right President Jair Bolsonaro to power. He said those campaigns have been intensifying ahead of October municipal elections in the country.

As part of his investigation, Moraes in April ordered X to suspend multiple accounts, including some he said were being used in attempts designed to “intimidate/expose law enforcement officers.”

The company refused to comply, backed by Musk issuing multiple posts, via X, saying he would not comply, and directly criticizing the country’s supreme court, including calling Moraes a “dictator.”

Matters continued to escalate, with X removing its legal representative from Brazil last month and refusing to appoint a new one, in violation of Brazilian law. On Friday, a corporate X account claimed the company would continue to not comply with Moraes’ orders on “freedom of speech” grounds.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Friday backed Judge Moraes’ order, saying no one – including Musk – is above the law. “Any citizen, from anywhere in the world, who has investments in Brazil, is subject to the Brazilian constitution and Brazilian laws,” he said.

“If the Supreme Court has made a decision for citizens to comply with certain things, they either have to comply or take another course of action,” he said. “It’s not because the guy has a lot of money that he can disrespect it.”

Moraes’ order described Musk’s refusal to comply with Brazilian law as being “bizarre,” citing a media report from Brazilian outlet UOL, which said that “the businessman has complied, without complaint, with hundreds of orders to remove content from the governments of India and Turkey.”

The order said Google, in its capacity as the owner of YouTube, as well as Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, both complied with the government’s legal takedown orders, including within specified timeframes, while X did not.

The social network operates as X Corp. in the U.S., and as Twitter International Unlimited Co., based in Ireland. Officials said the latter is the majority shareholder of X’s Brazilian operations.

The order blocks all in-country bank accounts and assets tied to X and Twitter, which is fully owned by Musk. The order also freezes the assets of internet provider Starlink, which is 40% owned by Musk, saying that company is part of a “de facto economic group” that he controls.

Multiple Brazilian legal experts have questioned the proportionality of the suspension as well as legality of freezing Starlink’s Brazilian bank accounts.