Brazil has fined Elon Musk's companies after some users were briefly able to access the social media platform X, despite a ban imposed last month.
Brazilian users flocked to X on Wednesday after the platform updated its server access. The company claimed this restoration was unintended, and access was blocked again just hours later. On Thursday, a Brazilian court fined X five million reais ($920,000) for breaching the ban. The company then reverted its service back to its previous provider, as noted by ABRINT, the country’s leading internet provider association.
While X and Cloudflare have yet to confirm this move, ABRINT indicated that X's public DNS showed a return to the previous setup. Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes accused the company of a "trick" in re-enabling access for some users and imposed a fine of over $920,000 for each day X operates in Brazil. However, it remains uncertain whether the court can enforce this fine or pursue payment now that service has reverted.
Musk's companies have a history of ignoring Brazilian court orders, including one from Justice de Moraes that led to the ban last month. X explained that the sudden access was due to a change in network providers, which "resulted in an inadvertent and temporary service restoration." An X spokesperson added, “While we expect the platform to be inaccessible again in Brazil soon, we continue efforts to work with the Brazilian government to return very soon for the people of Brazil.”
Some observers were skeptical of the company’s explanation. Basílio Rodriguez Pérez, an ABRINT advisor, suggested that the events indicated a deliberate action, noting that X had moved to Cloudflare servers and appeared to be using dynamic IP addresses, making it harder to block access without affecting other critical services, like PIX, which millions of Brazilians rely on for digital payments.
Despite this, some experts believe Cloudflare is well-positioned to help Brazil reinforce the ban. Felipe Autran, a constitutional lawyer in Brasília, stated, “The ban would be more effective if Cloudflare cooperates with the government,” highlighting the provider's importance to many Brazilian enterprises.
Brazil is one of Musk's largest markets for X, which was banned last month for failing to appoint a legal representative in the country. This situation has intensified a feud between Justice de Moraes and Musk, dating back to April, when the judge ordered the suspension of numerous X accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation.
At one point, Musk's satellite internet provider, Starlink, announced it would allow Brazilian customers to access X but reversed this decision after the nation’s telecommunications agency threatened to revoke its operating license.
Observers in Brazil have expressed frustration with both X and the government over their fractured relationship. “It’s a game of chess, and we are the pieces on the board,” Pérez remarked. “But it's not us who are playing; it's the government and X.”
Credit:Graphic Online.
