In their standoff with Elon Musk, the Brazilian authorities have therefore scored a point, after having been clearly taken by surprise and challenged by the surprise return of the social network.
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The Brazilian justice system has forced X to give in. Once available again for several hours on Brazilians’ mobile phones, the application was inaccessible to them again in the evening, in a new twist in the standoff between Elon Musk’s social network and the authorities in Brasilia. “X has stopped using the service” of the cybersecurity company Cloudflare that had allowed it to circumvent the blocking order issued on August 30 by the Supreme Court, the Brazilian Association of Internet Service Providers (Abrint) announced on Thursday. Now, the platform “is blocked” again, she confirmed.
In a ruling made public a few hours earlier on Thursday, Judge Alexandre de Moraes had ordered the social network to block its service again or face a fine of five million reais (around 820,000 euros) per day. According to him, X “has shown himself to be recalcitrant, unlawfully, persistently and with the intention of not respecting judicial orders.”
The group assured on Wednesday evening that the restoration of its service was an effect “involuntary” of a server change and would remain “temporary”.
On Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes also urged X to appoint a legal representative in Brazil within 24 hours. At the same time, the Brazilian prosecutor’s office has requested an investigation into users who took advantage of the lifting of the social network’s blockade on Wednesday to promote attacks against the Supreme Court.
The Brazilian telecommunications agency (Anatel) said in a statement on Thursday that “Network X’s conduct demonstrated a deliberate intent to circumvent the Supreme Court’s order.” The agency assured that it would take “the necessary measures in the event of further attempts to circumvent the suspension.”
The platform’s suspension has sparked a heated debate in Brazil and beyond about the limits of free speech on social media. Elon Musk has lambasted the blockage, calling it “dictator” Judge Moraes. The Brazilian right led by former head of state Jair Bolsonaro followed suit. The suspension was, however, supported by the government of left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in the name of respect for the law.