Brazil, thy name is confusion.
There is a saying here in the ‘tropical country’ that says: ‘Brazil is for professionals‘.
Being born and raised here, we are used to a maze of bureaucracy and a general lack of clarity in all public matters.
Following the blocking of the social platform X in Brazil, a question that was raised by freedom lovers worldwide was the usage of VPN’s by Brazilian users to bypass this spurious prohibition.
This was highly anticipated by our Supreme Court overlords, who decided in a first moment to prohibit the usage of VPN, as well as instituting a 50k reals (over $9k) fine for using VPNs to access X.
This decision was later partially reformed, and that’s where the confusion started.
Some social media users (I saw it posted by DogeDesigner/@cb_doge and also by Charlie Kirk/@Charliekirk11) are suggesting that the fines for accessing X via VPN were rescinded – which would in fact be a victory for free speech.
But that is not the case – as much as I can find.
In fact, what changed is the previous decision to make VPN forbidden in Brazil. That is no longer the case, which is good news for the 75 million VPN users in Brazil.
But it is still forbidden to use this technology to access X, and the fines are still on, although there is some level of push back from the Order of Attorneys of Brazil (OAB).
Techtudo reported:
“The Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) Alexandre de Moraes decreed the suspension of the social network X (formerly Twitter), last Friday (30), along with a controversial measure: blocking the use of VPN (Virtual Private Network) in Brazil.
In the injunction, the minister asked Apple and Google to remove this type of app from the App Store and Google Play Store and make it difficult to use on iPhone (iOS) and Android cell phones. In addition, it determined a fine of R$50,000 for anyone using technology to access X (formerly Twitter). On the same day, however, a second injunction lifted the ban on VPNs — but the fine remains in effect.”
Having said that, many jurists have noted that it would be difficult to implement them. Master in Public Law Virgínia Machado on Infomoney:
“Yes, the fine could happen, but legally and factually it is very difficult. How will this access attempt be controlled? How will this inspection be carried out? Furthermore, there are some constitutional prerogatives that precede the application of a sanction, such as due legal process, contradictory and broad defense.”
Here you have Michael Shellemberger backtracking his report about this issue:
https://x.com/shellenberger/status/1830713656809791969
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