With the ban on X, which came into effect on SaturdayBrazil joins a small club of countries that have taken similar measures against the social network, most of which are run by authoritarian regimes.
The suspension was ordered by a top Brazilian judge after Elon Musk refused to appoint a legal representative in the country. Judge Alexandre de Moraes and Musk had been feuding for months over allegations that X engaged in obstruction, criminal organization and sedition, the decision said, namely supporting a network of people known as digital militias who allegedly spread defamatory fake news and threats against Supreme Court justices.
According to market research firm Emarketer, approximately 40 million Brazilians, about a fifth of the population, visit X at least once a month.
Other countries restrict X
In addition to a permanent ban, some countries have temporarily restricted access to X, formerly Twitter, a site often used by political dissidents to communicate.
These include Egypt in 2011 during the Arab Spring uprisings, Turkey in 2014 and 2023, and Uzbekistan around that country’s presidential elections in 2021.
Here’s a list of some others.
In June 2009, Beijing banned Twitter, after which it assumed the prominent place it had in Western media and politics for much of the 2010s.
The blockade came two days before the 20th anniversary of the government’s crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in the capital’s Tiananmen Square.
Since then, many Chinese have switched to local alternatives such as Weibo and WeChat.
Twitter was also blocked by Tehran in 2009, when a wave of protests broke out after the disputed presidential election in June. Nevertheless, the network has since been used to broadcast information about dissident movements to the outside world, including the demonstrations against the suppression of women’s rights in Iran since late 2022.
The isolated Central Asian country of Turkmenistan blocked Twitter in early 2010, along with many other foreign online services and websites. Authorities in Ashgabat closely monitor citizens’ use of the Internet, which is provided by the state monopoly operator TurkmenTelecom.
Pyongyang opened its own Twitter account in 2010 in an attempt to lure foreigners interested in the country. But the app has been blocked since April 2016, along with Facebook, YouTube and gambling and pornography websites. Internet access outside of a handful of government websites is tightly controlled in the hermit regime, with access limited to a few high-ranking officials.
X has been blocked since February 2021, when authorities targeted the app over its use by opponents of the military coup that ousted the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi. Since then, the junta has maintained a tight grip on internet access in Myanmar.
Some use VPN to connect to the social media network X
In 2021, access to Twitter was blocked by Moscow. According to the authorities, the site offered users the opportunity to spread “illegal content”.
A formal ban came in March 2022, just after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Many Russian Users continue to connect to X through VPN services that allow them to bypass the block.
X has been banned since the parliamentary elections in February this year.
Pakistan’s military-backed government says the blockade is for security reasons. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, now in jail, was the target of widespread allegations of fraud spread via the platform against his opposition party.
Nicolas Maduro, who was declared the winner of the July presidential election despite serious suspicions of fraudOn August 9, the U.S. government ordered a 10-day suspension of access to X after security forces violently suppressed nationwide demonstrations. The blockade remains in place after the 10-day period has expired.
The country’s block on X comes from the judiciary, through Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. He has emphasized the reactivation of accounts suspended by Brazilian courts.
Users who connect to X via a VPN risk a fine of 50,000 reais ($8,900) per day.
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