Refugee right-wingers urge followers to use VPN against censorship

In recent weeks, with the announcement that the social network Locals will leave Brazil and in the face of growing restrictions on freedom of expression imposed by the Brazilian Judiciary, right-wing influencers who are refugees in the United States have emphatically recommended the use of VPN (“Virtual Private Network” – virtual private network) as a means to bypass limitations.

Locals’ decision is the second of its kind in less than two months. At the end of December, Rumble, a video platform similar to YouTube but with few restrictions on free expression, also announced its departure from the country.

Judicially persecuted personalities, such as jurist Ludmila Lins Grilo, journalists Paulo Figueiredo and Allan dos Santos and influencer Monark, have reinforced in the programs in which they participate the importance of using VPN as an alternative to what they have called “Xandão’s intranet” ( “intranet” is a private computer network used to share information internally only). All of them have had content blocked by decisions of the Federal Supreme Court (STF).

Figueiredo, for example, recently compared Brazil’s situation with countries known for government censorship initiatives, such as China. “At this point in the championship, either you have already learned how to use a VPN or you are on the Xandão intranet, and no longer on the internet,” he said. “Alexandre de Moraes signed an agreement with Anatel where he presses a button and takes down a website. How long will this continue? This is the Chinese model! It’s exactly like that in China!”

Ludmila Lins Grilo has also spoken out on the subject on several occasions. Recently, when faced with a question from a follower of hers about the impossibility of accessing Locals in Brazil, the lawyer warned: “Whoever is on the Alexandre de Moraes intranet will have nothing left. You will only read the news from Daniela Lima, from CNN.”

The decision by Rumble and Locals has been praised by censored Brazilians, who consider that a reaction of this type on the part of the platforms could expose the rise of authoritarianism in Brazil to the international community. “I really hope that Elon Musk [dono do X] see and do the same thing. I hope Telegram sees and does the same thing”, commented Figueiredo recently.

Content restrictions have a clear impact on the reach of posts made by users, even with the possibility of using a VPN. An example: two political commentators with similar worldviews and a more or less similar number of followers, such as Rodrigo Constantino, columnist for People’s Gazette, and journalist Augusto Nunes, recently posted two articles on the same subject on X: Lula’s statement comparing Israel’s attacks to the Holocaust. The post on Constantino’s profile, which is censored by the STF and can only be accessed via VPN, had less than 6,000 views as of Tuesday afternoon (20), while that of Nunes, who is not censored on X, had more of 100 thousand. Although the disparity may be motivated by other factors, it is likely that censorship of Constantine had a strong influence.

VPN is a way to circumvent censorship, but is punished in more severe dictatorships

A VPN service allows users to connect to the internet through a server in another country, hiding their real location and allowing them to access websites and platforms that are blocked in their home country.

Installing a VPN is generally simple. There are several VPN app options for computers and mobile devices. Many of these services offer free options with limitations, while paid versions provide additional features and faster connection speeds.

The situation in Brazil, where public figures have recommended VPNs to bypass digital restrictions, echoes the measures taken by citizens in authoritarian regimes seeking to preserve their freedom of expression and access to information.

In nations such as China, Iran, Turkmenistan and Uganda, the government imposes severe restrictions on internet freedom, and the use of VPNs is the weapon for the population to access information filtered by the State.

In many cases, the tool itself also ends up being the target of repression – even though it is difficult for the State to track the use of VPNs, precisely because these services reinforce privacy on networks. In China, for example, the government has strict rules about the use of VPNs, and users who try to circumvent them can even be arrested.

In May last year, Minister Alexandre de Moraes threatened to include Brazil in the short list of countries that prohibit the use of VPN to access a service. After Telegram published a message to its users denouncing the problems with PL 2630/2020, Moraes ordered restrictions on the use of Telegram in the country, and threatened anyone who circumvented this restriction using a VPN with a fine of R$100,000 per day.