Brazilian judge amends his order, no longer requiring Apple and Google to prevent downloads of X's app; those using a VPN to access X still face a ~$9K/day fine

The social network will go dark in the nation of 200 million, the result of an escalating fight between Elon Musk and a Brazilian judge over what can be said online.

New York Times 2024-09-01

Context & Ripple Effects

The order narrows a confrontation that had already escalated after X said it would defy account-blocking restrictions in Brazil, with Musk calling for the judge to resign in April after X challenged the earlier account restrictions.

Rather than making mobile app distributors part of the remedy, the amended order leaves the service-level block and penalties for circumvention at the center of enforcement. That distinction matters as Brazil moved to block X following the dispute over its local legal representation.

First-order effects

Apple and Google no longer have to prevent downloads of X in Brazil, removing an immediate compliance obligation for the two app-store operators.
X remains unavailable through the block, while people who use a VPN to reach it still face a roughly $9,000-per-day fine.

Second-order effects

The amendment shifts the practical enforcement burden away from distribution platforms and toward X, network-level blocking, and individual users who try to circumvent it.
App stores avoid having to operationalize a Brazil-specific download restriction, while VPN use becomes a more legally exposed route to access the service.

Third-order effects

If this approach persists, platform-access disputes may increasingly separate liability for app distributors from controls aimed at the service and its users.
The case illustrates how access-control remedies can extend beyond a platform’s moderation decisions to the tools used to bypass a national block, though the eventual appellate outcome could limit that model.

The trend: This is one instance of governments testing more targeted ways to enforce platform-access rules while limiting direct obligations on mobile distribution gatekeepers.

Discussion

UPROXX Flisadam Pointer on x
Brazil's Reported X (Twitter) Ban Has Massive Music Fan Pages Bidding A Sorrowful Farewell To The Platform
@celozaga Celo Zaga on threads
Bluesky is TOP 1 in the Brazil App Store, Twitter users don't really trust Meta after all.
@lorakolodny Lora Kolodny on threads
Quoting from g1 globo, Brazil-based news site so you can see it's not just my reading: “Initially, Moraes gave a deadline of 5 days for companies like Apple and Google to stop offering the X app in their online stores. The text also stated that these companies should not allow V…
@igb@mastodon.hccp.org @igb@mastodon.hccp.org on mastodon
This is what's known in the industry as a “reverse Orkut”. — https://www.nytimes.com/...
@kenwhite.bsky.social @kenwhite.bsky.social on bluesky
Imposing consequences on a web site for breaking a country's laws is defensible. Imposing consequences on citizens of the country for trying to access the web site strikes me as pretty totalitarian. — Like imagine if the TikTok ban was followed up by a law making it illegal to…
@cathygellis.bsky.social Cathy Gellis on bluesky
No matter what you think of Musk, such a penalty for USING A MEDIUM TO COMMUNICATE is not consistent with a free society. [embedded post]
@mmasnick.bsky.social Mike Masnick on bluesky
Okay, here's my writeup of the Brazilian block order (yes, including the *temporary* amendment suspending the VPN block). It's still absolutely crazy. No one should be in favor of this. www.techdirt.com/2024/08/30/ b...
@jasonycw.github.io Jason Yu on bluesky
I guess we'll see a lot more activities here and #Threads for the #BrazilGP this year. — #F1 teams' admins and drivers remember to add the $9K/day expenses for that weekend to keep posting on #Twitter 😂 [embedded post]
@lorak.bsky.social Lora Kolodny on bluesky
“...The suspension of this part, in his view, avoids any unnecessary and reversible disruptions to other companies.” noticias.stf.jus.br/postsnoticia... scroll to the end ^ for link to 2nd order filing which you need to translate from Brazilian Portuguese unless you speak this be…
@lorak.bsky.social Lora Kolodny on bluesky
“...removing it from their virtual stores, as well as applications that allow the use of VPN.In a new decision, Minister Alexandre suspended this section due to the possibility of ‘X Brasil’ making a statement in the proceedings and fully complying with the court orders...
@lorak.bsky.social Lora Kolodny on bluesky
From the STF's press release on its second order (suspending X in Brazil) using Google translate from Portuguese to English: “The rapporteur had initially ordered Apple and Google to adopt obstacles to prevent the use of the X application on iOS and Android systems, in addition t…
@lorak.bsky.social Lora Kolodny on bluesky
Updated this story. STF, Brazil's highest court, issued a second order suspending some measures from the first order. X is still suspended in Brazil, but the court is not requiring app stores to block users from downloading X, and to block certain VPN downloads, in 5 days' time…
@kenwhite.bsky.social @kenwhite.bsky.social on bluesky
/2 I should say, is defensible if the site does business in that country. Not, I think, if it doesn't.
@mmasnick.bsky.social Mike Masnick on bluesky
So, even more bizarre... a week ago, Apple appeared to block a bunch of VPNs in the App Store in Brazil with some suggestion it may have been connected to this. But... that was a week ago. www.technadu.com/35-vpn-repor... [embedded post]
@sarahemclaugh.bsky.social Sarah McLaughlin on bluesky
Brazil blocked X today and Justice Moraes is threatening “that anyone caught using a VPN to gain access to X in Brazil would face a fine of nearly $9,000 a day.”
@alexandrefiles Alexandre Files on x
Today, we begin shining a light on the abuses of Brazilian law committed by Alexandre de Moraes. We have been forced to share these orders because there is no transparency from the court, and the people who are being censored have no recourse to appeal. Our own appeals have been
@mysk_co @mysk_co on x
The top two grossing apps in the Utilities category on the Brazilian App Store are VPN apps: [image]
@george_chen George Chen on x
Can you still use VPN to access X in Brazil? Otherwise I guess Brazil will soon need to ask China for help to install Great Firewall nationwide. X has a lot to improve but free speech and free internet are now also under attack. Ban is simply not the solution to the problem.
@sallymayweather @sallymayweather on x
Set your VPNs to Brazil. Overload the censors.
@yashar Yashar Ali on x
This is outrageous... The New York Times confirms that the Brazilian judge who has ordered the suspension of X/Twitter has also said that anyone caught using a VPN to gain access to X in Brazil would face a fine of nearly $9,000 a day. Threatening people with penalties for
@ggreenwald Glenn Greenwald on x
In his original order banning X, Brazil's authoritarian censorship judge Moraes ordered Apple and Google not only to ban X from their stores, but also ban all VPN programs. Now he retreated on that, but using VPNs to access X in Brazil is still illegal, with a $10k/day fine:
@marionawfal Mario Nawfal on x
🚨🇧🇷 BREAKING: BRAZIL SUPREME COURT AUTHORIZES VPN USE, MAINTAINS FINES FOR ACCESSING X Minister Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil's Supreme Court reversed his decision to block VPNs, allowing Apple and Google to keep VPN apps available. However, the daily fine of R$50,000 for [image]
@chrispavlovski Chris Pavlovski on x
@TimSweeneyEpic Big moment. Google will definitely fold, but I have hope that Apple won't. Tim, DM me if you read this. I'm the CEO of Rumble.
@mysk_co @mysk_co on x
@TimSweeneyEpic X has a great Progressive Web App (PWA). All you need to get it to work is a VPN app, which can also be taken down by the App Store or Google Play.
@ggreenwald Glenn Greenwald on x
!!!! In addition to ordering X banned in all of Brazil, Moraes also banned any citizens from accessing X using a VPN. He said any citizen found to access X in Brazil using a VPN, they will be fined US$ 10,000 per day. The pure face of tyranny: [image]
@ggreenwald Glenn Greenwald on x
The group of countries that Brazil is about to join in banning the use of VPN's to access prohibited sites: [image]
@timsweeneyepic Tim Sweeney on x
That 5-day countdown now begins. Will the Apple App Store start blocking Twitter? Will Google Play Store? History is watching.
@brucedaisley Bruce Daisley on x
A serious escalation here. If you use a VPN to continue using X in Brazil there's a daily fine of £6750 coming your way.
@elonmusk Elon Musk on x
The oppressive regime in Brazil is so afraid of the people learning the truth that they will bankrupt anyone who tries
@chrispavlovski Chris Pavlovski on x
Brazil no longer has Rumble and from media reports, they will no longer have X. World powers don't want Rumble, they don't want X, they don't want Telegram. They want to control information and our companies do not allow them to. There are no other large companies fighting for
@cb_doge @cb_doge on x
Brazil has fallen. The Supreme Court orders the suspension of 𝕏. → 𝕏 to be taken down in 24 hours. → AppStore and PlayStore have been told to remove the 𝕏 app within 5 days. → Anyone using 𝕏 via VPN will face fines of up to ~$8,800 [image]
@marionawfal Mario Nawfal on x
🚨🇧🇷DE MORAES ORDERS GOOGLE AND APPLE TO REMOVE X FROM APP STORES IN BRAZIL In a continued assault on free speech and in his decision to ban X across Brazil, De Moraes also ordered Google and Apple to remove the media platform from their app stores in the country within 5 days. [i…
@ggreenwald Glenn Greenwald on x
BREAKING: Brazil's authoritarian censorship judge, Alexandre de Moraes, orders X banned in all of Brazil within 24 hours. Also ordered Google and Apple to remove X from its stores within 5 days.
r/BlueskySocial r on reddit
Brazil's X ban is sending lots of people to Bluesky | The Verge
r/inthenews r on reddit
Brazil Blocks X After Musk Ignores Court Orders

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