A day after X began to reactivate for some users in Brazil, the country’s Supreme Court announced that the social media company and Elon Musk’s Starlink could face hefty daily fines. In a new ruling published online, Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered regulators to reinstate the blocking of X, warning that the two companies could face fines of around $1 million per day if they fail to comply.
Moraes, who has been in public disputes with Musk for months, made the latest decision after X became accessible to many users in Brazil on Wednesday. The company had previously said in a statement that this was “an unintentional and temporary service return resulting from the change of network providers.”
Following last month’s ban, X reportedly began using Cloudflare servers, which made it harder for internet service providers in Brazil to enforce the block. The company said in a statement on Wednesday that it was switching network providers “in order to provide service to Latin America” and that it expected its services in Brazil to be shut down again soon.
But now, Moraes said X could be fined around $921,000 for every day it has not complied with the ban as of September 19. Starlink previously faced the freezing of its bank accounts in Brazil over the dispute, and according to the order, X will be held “jointly liable” if it does not pay the fine. Moraes also ordered the country’s internet regulator to immediately block “CDN Cloudflare, Fastly and EdgeUno servers, and other similar servers created to bypass the court order” to block access to the platform.
X has not yet commented on the matter.
Brazil has often been in the news for its bans and sanctions against social media companies, taking a particularly tough stance on combating disinformation and ensuring platforms comply with legal regulations. These latest developments suggest the country could be implementing stricter digital regulations.
The ongoing legal tension between Moraes and Elon Musk has also sparked a broader debate about how technological infrastructures are used to bypass court orders. How Brazil’s battle with global tech giants plays out could set an important precedent for social media platforms and digital service providers.
Brazil could be a model for other countries
Brazil’s tough measures could set a model for other countries. Platforms’ failure to comply with national laws could lead to similar penalties in other markets in the future. Other governments are watching closely to see how providers like Starlink respond to these types of national regulations.