VPN Apps in Brazilian App Store
Proton (via Hacker News):
We have received multiple reports today from users in Brazil having difficulties installing the Proton VPN app on iOS devices via the Apple App Store. We can confirm that the issue is not on our side, but likely with the App Store itself, which is controlled by Apple. What makes this an extremely strange coincidence is that it is also impacting multiple other VPNs in the Brazilian app store.
Most likely, something has happened on the Apple side, and we do not know if it is accidental, or if Apple is secretly implementing a censorship order.
Previously:
Update (2024-09-06): Jack Nicas and Kate Conger (9to5Mac):
Justice Moraes issued multiple orders on Friday. In the first, he also ordered Apple and Google to prevent downloads of X as well as popular VPN apps.
People across Brazil quickly criticized the move against VPN apps, and about three hours later, Justice Moraes issued an amendment to the order, this time leaving out the directives to Apple and Google.
Even with that amendment, Carlos Affonso Souza, a Brazilian internet-law professor, called the order “the most extreme judicial decision out of a Brazilian court in 30 years of internet law in Brazil.”
The original decision also banned all VPN apps and asked Google and Apple to remove all VPN apps from the stores, but he backtracked on that “for now”. Crazy stuff.
I initially thought that first section couldn’t possibly mean that app stores also had to ban VPNs. But that’s what it pretty clearly says and what multiple Brazilian reports claim.
The end result is taking away VPNs from millions of Brazilians, which is an awful lot of collateral damage just because Elon Musk is a jackass. VPNs have many legitimate uses other than accessing ExTwitter after a ban in Brazil.
A few hours after the decision, Moraes seemed to walk back that section of the ruling, though perhaps only temporarily. In a second short ruling, he “suspended the execution” of that item “until there is a statement from the parties in the proceedings” in order to “avoid any unnecessary and reversible inconvenience to third-party companies.”
In other words, after Moraes hears from “the parties in the proceedings,” the VPN ban could come back.
On Monday, the Supreme Court upheld the overall ban. Moraes said that the ban on personal use for VPNs would only be enforced for users who sought to “engage in conduct that defrauds the court decision,” which seems somewhat broad and open to interpretation. One other judge wanted to limit the individual fines only to users who got around the ban and used it to post racist or fascist supporting content, but that request did not receive the necessary support from the other judges.
2 Comments RSS · Twitter · Mastodon
To quote a certain Mr. Garak: "I believe in coincidence. Coincidences happen every day. But I don't trust coincidences."
This is happening at the same time as this? https://mjtsai.com/blog/2024/08/19/brazil-vs-twitter/
Quite the coincidence!
This was a rather odd behavior — I hadn't downloaded the Proton VPN app before, so it showed the typical blue "GET" button. After tapping it, I don't recall if it showed the usual authentication prompt, but the final state was that the button became disabled with the text "Purchased". No automatic download, and no way to request a download.
FWIW, it's now fixed — opened the App Store again today, and I saw the GET button again (i.e. the app wasn't linked to my account yesterday). Got the full authentication process and download as usual.
I wish I had tried other, non-VPN apps, but it surely was weird. I wouldn't rule out the possibility of a secret court order, but this isn't exactly common around here. Previous cases were very public, and banned apps usually simply disappear from search results.
