Over the weekend, Brazilians flocked to the best VPN services to maintain access to X (formerly known as Twitter). Now, they risk fines of up to nearly $9,000 a day if they choose to bypass the government-imposed restriction.
On Friday evening, August 30, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes not only issued a suspension order for X for failing to appoint a local legal representative as required by Brazilian law, but went a step further and criminalized the use of VPNs to circumvent such restrictions.
“At this point, it seems difficult to imagine how the Brazilian government’s proposed fines for people using VPNs to access X could be technically implemented,” Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske, a spokesperson for leading VPN company Surfshark, told me. “Especially considering that this is one of the first limitations of its kind in the history of internet restrictions.”
Despite the prospect of hefty fines, citizens and visitors have flocked to VPN services. Two VPNs, NordVPN and Proton VPN, are the most popular apps in the Utilities category of Apple’s Brazilian App Store.
The latter confirmed a 1,840% increase in sign-ups above normal levels over the weekend, even greater than the surge in VPN usage recorded in April, when people began preparing for the worst.
“This increase underscores how people in Brazil are turning to more secure VPN services to maintain access to vital communication channels,” David Peterson, general manager of Proton VPN, told me.
The growing interest in VPNs is widespread across the industry. VPNMentor experts also recorded a 469% increase in demand in the first few hours after the lockdown, reaching 1,600% the next day on August 31.
That’s because a VPN (virtual private network) is a security software that not only encrypts your internet connections, but can also spoof your IP address location. By making it appear as if you’re browsing from outside Brazil in no time, it allows you to continue accessing X despite the block. Exactly what De Moraes is looking to avoid.
Controversial X ban in Brazil
The X ban order is the culmination of a months-long censorship dispute that centered on Brazilian judge de Moraes and X owner Elon Musk.
It all started in early April with X's global government affairs team regretting A Brazilian court ordered the company to block certain accounts. The team shared its intention to legally challenge these orders, as it believes they do not comply with Brazilian laws, and promised to defend citizens' freedom of expression “regardless of their political beliefs.”
About an hour later, Musk confirmed that he had lifted these restrictions despite being threatened with hefty fines, possible arrest of X employees, and a social media ban. “As a result, we will likely lose all revenue in Brazil and have to close our office there. But principles matter more than profits.” He wroteIn another tweet, he also called for the judge to resign or be removed. A day later, De Moraes officially opened an investigation into Musk's conduct.
The official decision to close X’s Brazilian office came on August 17. At the time, there were reports that some VPN services had disappeared from Apple’s local App Store. A week later, the ultimatum came: X was given a 24-hour deadline on Wednesday, August 18, to appoint a local legal representative, as required by law. The social media giant refused, and the rest is history.
Did you know?
According to Surfshark’s findings, 37 countries have banned X since 2015, either temporarily or permanently, affecting over 3 billion people worldwide. “What’s more worrying is that most of these cases are related to political unrest, which raises a lot of questions about the intention behind such communication limitations on social media apps,” Surfshark spokesperson Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske told me.
As Surfshark's Racaityte-Krasauske noted: “Any move that seeks to limit people's freedom of expression is worrying.”
However, in what the New York Times called a “highly unusual move,” de Moraes also said that anyone in Brazil who uses a circumvention tool like a VPN app to access X could be fined nearly $8,900 a day.
This sum is quite significant considering that Brazil's GDP per capita is currently $11,350. It is not surprising that the decision has been met with strong criticism from all sides.
In a note to the Supreme Court issued on Saturday – reported the Financial Times – the Brazilian Bar Association wrote: “The application of a daily fine to individuals and legal entities in a broad and generalized manner represents a serious affront to the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.”
Peterson of Proton VPN also sees The government's decision constitutes a “significant violation” of citizens' digital rights and freedoms.
The Need for No-Log VPN
At the time of writing, it's unclear how the Brazilian Supreme Court might implement its threat and issue fines against people who use a VPN to access X. Technically speaking, that seems like a pretty tall order.
However, Proton VPN’s Peterson believes that using a reliable, no-logs VPN is crucial to ensuring that online activities cannot be traced back to the user. This is because while some basic data logs, such as the number of users connecting to the same server and the email address associated with a user’s account, are unavoidable, a no-logs VPN ensures that no personal information or usage data linked to you or your activities is ever collected.
“Proton VPN does not log any user activity, so even if authorities were to try to fine users for accessing specific content through a VPN, we would have no data to provide,” Peterson explained. “Enforcing those fines would be technically challenging due to the strong privacy protections that Proton VPN offers.”
At the same time, however, it's important to keep in mind that even the most private VPN can't protect you if you post on your social media feed with your name and photo.
That's why Peterson suggests avoiding using your real name, photo or other personal details on public profiles or posts. “This can help protect your identity and reduce the risk of being targeted for your online activities. Being aware of what you share and how you present yourself online is critical to maintaining your privacy and security,” she added.
This promo code gives you 30GB of free data per month if you're in Brazil: FUXANDAO To avoid paying the fine, create an anonymous X account. If you're more paranoid, check out the image pic.twitter.com/N9iBybv8DkSeptember 1, 2024
I also recommend getting as many VPN apps as possible in case a service goes down. Blocking VPN traffic is a much more common strategy employed by authorities to prevent citizens from using a VPN to bypass government-imposed online censorship.
Be careful though, as free services are often not safe. Check out our dedicated page on the best free VPNs on the market for the most secure and reliable apps – Privado VPN and Proton VPN are our top picks right now.
Some providers are also offering free data to people using a VPN in Brazil right now. Windscribe (see tweet above) is offering 30GB of free data per month, and Tunnelbear is offering 10GB if you're connecting from Brazil.
At the same time, if you want to be extra secure, I suggest using the Tor Browser instead of or in combination with a VPN to unblock X. Tor is completely free and offers an even higher level of security by rerouting your internet connections (and data in transit) through at least three encrypted layers. Keep in mind that this enhanced encryption, however, can significantly slow down your connection speed.
We test and evaluate VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:
1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).
2. Protect your online security and strengthen your online privacy when you are abroad.
We do not support or tolerate illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Future Publishing does not endorse or approve the consumption of pirated content for which payment is required.
