For several weeks, the Brazilian Supreme Court has banned the social network X in the country, a decision that has outraged Elon Musk. While it was thought that X would separate from Brazil and not give in to the censorship demands of the Supreme Court and in particular of Judge Alexandre de Moraes, the trend is reversing and is gradually moving away from the balance of power.
The end of the conflict?
Social network X recently faced a major conflict with the Brazilian Supreme Court, which resulted in the platform being suspended in the country. This decision temporarily blocked access to X via the DNS of Brazilian Internet Service Providers and any attempt to access it via a VPN was banned (under penalty of fine), which significantly reduced X’s traffic in Brazil.
This suspension could, however, be coming to an end. X’s lawyers told the New York Times overnight that the company had complied with the demands of the Brazilian justice system, blocking the accounts targeted by the censorship imposed by the Supreme Court. The company also paid the fines imposed and appointed a new official representative in Brazil, a sign of goodwill aimed at reestablishing its presence in the Brazilian market.
The conflict began this summer, when Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered X to block several accounts that were spreading false information about the country’s politics. Musk, a vocal opponent of censorship, decided to suspend X’s operations in Brazil rather than comply with the order. The move angered Brazilian authorities, and Moraes quickly banned the platform while threatening users who circumvented the ban via VPNs with financial penalties.
During the ban period, many Brazilian users turned to alternative platforms like Bluesky, whose usage exploded. The social network even surpassed the 10 million user mark, becoming one of the most downloaded apps on the Brazilian App Store.
On Wednesday, X announced that it would continue its collaborative efforts with the Brazilian government to fully restore its services and ensure access to its users.
However, one question remains: will this bad experience in Brazil influence Elon Musk’s policy on handling account blocking requests by local authorities? Until now, Musk has been inflexible in the face of external pressure, defending freedom of expression on his platform. However, the financial impact and loss of market share caused by this suspension in Brazil could well prompt X to review its strategy.
