Brazil judge orders X to reimpose block or face hefty fine

This photo illustration shows the social media platform X (former Twitter) app on a smartphone in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on September 18, 2024 – Copyright AFP/File Allison Joyce

Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered Elon Musk’s X to suspend access to the social network, after service was restored despite a ban, or face a daily fine of over $900,000.

The former Twitter was banned last month in Latin America’s largest nation, but access to the phone app returned on Wednesday in what the government slammed as a deliberate violation of the suspension order.

X said the return of its service was “inadvertent and temporary.”

Judge Alexandre de Moraes said in a court order that a “recalcitrant” X had “unlawfully, persistently and intentionally” failed to respect judicial orders, and would face a daily fine of 5 million reais ($913,000 USD) until it again suspends its service.

Moraes also ordered state telecommunications agency Anatel to take all necessary measures to once again block access to the social network.

The high-profile judge has been engaged in a long feud with South African-born billionaire Musk, as part of his drive to crack down on disinformation in Brazil.

Last month he ordered the suspension of X after Musk refused to remove dozens of right-wing accounts accused of spreading fake news, and then failed to name a new legal representative in the country as ordered.

– Musk assets frozen –

The suspension infuriated Musk and the far-right, and has fueled a fierce debate on freedom of expression and the limits of social networks, both inside and outside the country.

The social media platform has more than 22 million users in Brazil.

Moraes also froze the assets of X and Musk’s satellite internet operator Starlink — which has been operating in Brazil since 2022, especially in remote communities in the Amazon — to ensure payment of fines imposed on the social network for flouting court orders.

Last week, Moraes ordered the transfer of about $3 million from Musk’s companies to pay fines incurred by X.

Musk has repeatedly hit out at Moraes in social media posts, calling him an “evil dictator” and dubbing him “Voldemort” after the villain from the Harry Potter series.

Internet providers explained that X had been accessible again after an automatic update to the phone application.

New software allows the app to use constantly changing identifying IP addresses, which makes it much harder to block.

While X said the restoration of service was unintentional, Anatel said the company acted with “deliberate intention” to skirt the Supreme Court order.

Anatel said Thursday it had “identified a mechanism which, we hope” will block the service again.

When banning X, Moraes also ruled that those using “technological subterfuges” such as virtual private networks (VPNs) to access the blocked site could be fined up to $9,000.