Elon Musk’s X and Starlink Fined $1 Million Daily for Ban Evasion in Brazil
Elon Musk’s X is facing significant daily fines in Brazil for allegedly evading a ban on the service in the country. The fines, imposed by Brazil’s supreme court, amount to $5 million in Brazilian reals, which is approximately $920,000 a day. The court has also stated that it will continue to hold Starlink, the satellite internet service owned by SpaceX, Musk’s aerospace venture, jointly liable for the violations.
The suspension of X in Brazil was initially ordered by the country’s chief justice, Alexandre de Moraes, at the end of August, with the orders being upheld by a panel of justices in early September. The court found that under Musk’s leadership, X had violated Brazilian law, which mandates social media companies to have a legal representative in the country and to remove content deemed harmful to democratic institutions, including hate speech. Additionally, X was found to have failed to suspend accounts allegedly involved in doxxing federal officers.
X recently made a move to servers hosted by Cloudflare and utilized dynamic internet protocol addresses that frequently change, allowing many users in Brazil to continue accessing the site. This change was in contrast to the previous setup where the company used static and specific IP addresses in Brazil, making it easier for internet service providers to block access as per regulatory orders.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, has been vocal in his criticism of de Moraes for several months and has continued to express his disapproval even after the ban was imposed. Musk has likened de Moraes to infamous fictional characters like Darth Vader and Voldemort, and has called for his impeachment on multiple occasions.
Brazil had previously withdrawn fines levied against X from the accounts of X and Starlink held at financial institutions in the country. The new fines, which are set to begin on September 19, will be calculated based on the number of days of non-compliance with the court’s earlier orders to suspend X nationwide.
While Musk often portrays himself as a proponent of free speech, X has complied with takedown requests in countries like India, Turkey, and Hungary. It appears that X may also be in the process of adhering to Brazil’s takedown orders, as reported by Brazilian publication Correio Braziliense, which indicated that X has started blocking accounts in accordance with the suspension orders from the supreme court.
Among the accounts that were reportedly banned were those of internet influencers who are under investigation for spreading misinformation and inciting attacks against democratic institutions in Brazil. X has stated that it does not intend to restore access for Brazilian users.
In response to the ban, X explained that when it was shut down in Brazil, its infrastructure for providing service to Latin America became inaccessible to its team. As a result, the company changed network providers, inadvertently resulting in a temporary restoration of service to Brazilian users. X has expressed its commitment to working with the Brazilian government to resolve the situation and return to providing service in Brazil.
Brazil’s national telecommunication agency, Anatel, has been directed by de Moraes to block access to the platform by targeting Cloudflare, Fastly, EdgeUno servers, and other services that the court believes were created to circumvent the suspension of X in Brazil. A spokesperson from Cloudflare clarified that the company does not enable or prevent blocking and that many of its customers choose to use dedicated IPs, which is a common practice in the industry.
Prior to the suspension, X had an estimated 22 million users in Brazil, according to Data Reportal. The ongoing legal battle between X, Starlink, and the Brazilian government highlights the complexities and challenges faced by tech companies operating in different regions with varying legal requirements and regulations.
