Brazil’s X Ban: VPN Fines Mark New Internet Battlefield, Say Free Speech Advocates

Brazil’s enforcement of its ban on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, through fines for using VPNs, highlights a potential battleground between internet freedom and regulation, according to free speech and privacy activists. Last month, Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered all telecom providers in the country to block access to X, escalating a months-long dispute between Musk and the Latin American country over free speech and posts the judge described as misinformation. The judge imposed daily fines of $8,900 for anyone caught bypassing the ban using VPNs (virtual private networks), which allow people to access the internet as if they were located in a different country....