Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has been caught in a whirlwind of legal battles in Brazil, experiencing another shutdown just a day after it became accessible. The platform’s availability was previously suspended in the country following a stand-off with the Brazilian Supreme Court. The court banned X after it refused to comply with the nation’s laws and appoint a legal representative as mandated. This sparked a heated public feud between Musk and Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who Musk has repeatedly criticized, calling him a ‘dictator’ and ‘Voldemort.’
More than two weeks after the ban, X made a surprise appearance online in Brazil. The court deemed this a deliberate violation of the imposed suspension, prompting Judge Moraes to order the state telecommunications agency Anatel to block access to X once again. Failure to comply with this order carries a hefty daily fine of up to $900,000. X, in response, claimed that the brief reactivation was an ‘inadvertent and temporary’ result of a change in network providers, and the platform went offline once again. However, this explanation has been met with skepticism.
The conflict between Musk and the Brazilian court stems from his refusal to remove right-wing accounts accused of spreading fake news on X. Judge Moraes, in retaliation, has frozen the assets of both X and Musk’s satellite internet company Starlink. He has also ordered the transfer of around $3 million from these companies to cover fines for violating court orders.
The brief period of accessibility was attributed to a phone app update that enabled the use of constantly changing IP addresses through Cloudflare, making it harder to block the platform. However, this workaround was ultimately unsuccessful, and X was once again blocked in Brazil. The ongoing battle between Musk and the Brazilian legal system highlights the complex relationship between social media platforms and national regulations, as well as the evolving nature of online censorship in the digital age.
