If you live or are traveling to Brazil soon, you may need to get one of the best VPN apps to continue accessing a popular social media service.
According to several media reports, Brazil's Supreme Court has threatened to ban the platform on Wednesday, August 28, if the social media giant does not appoint a legal representative in the country within 24 hours.
X (formerly known as Twitter) announced the potential block directly from the platform, confirming that it has no intention of complying with the Court’s request. “We hope that Judge Alexandre de Moraes will order the closure of X in Brazil, simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents,” the Global Government Affairs team wrote in a tweet (see below).
Alexandre de Moraes is an evil dictator who disguises himself as a judge. https://t.co/ZIV8KbDCmkAugust 30, 2024
Earlier this month, X decided to close its offices in Brazil due to a months-long censorship dispute. The company made the decision because local representatives had allegedly been threatened with arrest for failing to comply with content removal orders.
Under Brazilian law, foreign companies must have legal representatives based in the country to continue operating in Brazil.
X owner Elon Musk has been particularly critical of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, repeatedly calling him a “tyrant” and “dictator” on his social media account.
The dispute has now spread to Musk's other assets as well, the judge said.
froze SpaceX's Starlink finances on Thursday.
How a VPN can help
While the Brazilian X ban has not yet been confirmed, the chances are very high that you will soon need to find an alternative way to access the platform.
Simply put, if de Moraes ultimately approves the blocking order, you will have to trick Brazilian Internet Service Providers (ISPs) into thinking you are browsing from a completely different country in order to continue using X while in Brazil.
A VPN, short for virtual private network, is a security software that encrypts internet connections and spoofs the user's real IP address. The latter feature is exactly what you need to bypass government-imposed geo-restrictions.
Did you know?
VPN usage in Brazil skyrocketed in April when Elon Musk suggested Brazilians download VPNs after Brazil launched an investigation into his conduct. At the time, Proton VPN saw subscriptions increase by 600% above normal levels.
It all sounds very technical, but don't worry, using a VPN app is easy.
All you need to do is connect to a VPN server located in an unrestricted country. X will see your spoofed IP address and assume you are physically in the same location as the server you choose.
It's worth noting that there have been reports of VPN providers supposedly disappearing from the Apple App Store in Brazil. These include some of TechRadar's favourites such as NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Proton VPN and Surfshark.
At the time, I reached out to some of the affected providers. Most of them, including NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark, said they saw no indication that their services were unavailable to Apple users in Brazil. Proton VPN was the only provider to confirm an issue in the app store.
Either way, I suggest you download the VPN app before entering the country. I also recommend checking out our best free VPNs page so you can download some safe free apps and switch between them in case a provider goes down.
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.
