Brazil fined Elon Musk’s company after some users in the country were briefly able to access social media platform X despite a ban last month.
On Wednesday, Brazilian users flocked to X after it updated its access method to servers in Brazil.
The company said the platform’s restoration was unintentional. A few hours later, access was blocked again.
On Thursday, a Brazilian court fined the company 5 million reais ($920,000; £695,000) for breaching the ban.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the company had committed “tricks” in re-enabling access for some users.
He fined X and another of Mr Musk’s companies, internet satellite company Starlink, more than $920,000 (£695,000) for each day they operated in Brazil.
But it’s unclear whether courts can enforce fines. Musk’s company has previously ignored Brazilian court orders, including requests that led to the social media site being banned in the first place in August.
Explaining the sudden visit by some users on Wednesday, X said a change in network provider “resulted in the inadvertent temporary restoration of service to Brazilian users.”
“While we expect the platform to become unavailable again in Brazil soon, we will continue to work with the Brazilian government to restore service to the Brazilian people as quickly as possible,” an
The company’s explanation surprised some observers.
“Everything that happened that day leads us to believe that this was intentional,” said Basílio Rodriguez Pérez, an adviser to ABRINT, the country’s leading trade group for Internet service providers (ISPs).
ABRINT said that X was moved to a server hosted by Cloudflare and that the site appeared to be using dynamic Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that were constantly changing, suggesting that the change in access permissions for Brazilian users was purposeful.
In comparison, previous systems relied on specific IP addresses that were more easily blocked.
ABRINT consultant Basílio Rodriguez Pérez said these dynamic IP addresses can also be linked to critical services in Brazil.
“Many of these IP [addresses] Shared with other legitimate services such as banks and large online platforms so the IP cannot be blocked [address] No other services are affected.
These include the PIX service, which millions of Brazilians rely on for digital payments.
Despite the change, some experts say Cloudflare is well-positioned to help Brazil tighten its ban.
“Actually, I think the ban would be more effective if Cloudflare actually cooperated with the government,” said Felipe Autran, a constitutional lawyer in Brasilia, the country’s capital.
“I think they will because they are a huge supplier to many Brazilian businesses and the government.”
Cloudflare declined to comment when contacted by the BBC.
Brazil is said to be one of the largest markets for Musk’s social media network.
The platform was banned in the country last month after failing to appoint new legal representation within court deadlines.
It marks the most significant development in a dispute between Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and Musk, which began in April when the judge ordered the suspension of dozens of people accused of spreading falsehoods. Information about the X account.
Musk’s satellite network provider Starlink, a subsidiary of spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX, once announced that it would allow its Brazilian customers to log into X.
Brazilian observers expressed dismay at the breakdown in relations between X and the Brazilian government.
“This is a chess game and we are the pieces on the chess board,” Mr. Perez said. “But it’s not us who are playing the game. It’s the government and X who are playing games.
