Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, became accessible to many users in Brazil on Wednesday after an update to its communications network bypassed a block ordered by the country’s Supreme Court.
The X update used cloud services offered by third parties, including security firm Cloudflare, allowing some Brazilian users to take an out-of-country route to reach X, even without a virtual private network, according to Abrint, the Brazilian Association of Internet and Telecommunications Providers.
According to Abrint, the number of Brazilians who have access to X is unknown. X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“I think this change was probably intentional. Why would X use a third-party service that ends up being slower than theirs?” said Basilio Perez, a member of Abrint’s board of directors.
Last month, after a months-long dispute between X owner Elon Musk and Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court ordered Brazil’s mobile and internet service providers to block the platform. Access to X was shut down within hours. Musk’s satellite internet provider Starlink had initially said it would continue to allow access to X in defiance of the ban, but it has since backtracked.
Perez added that it would be difficult to block X a second time because of Cloudflare’s technical change and ubiquity, meaning that blocking access to its services could put government agencies and financial service providers at risk: “You can’t just block Cloudflare, because you’d be blocking half the internet.”
Any revised decision by Brazil’s national telecommunications agency, Anatel, which is tasked with implementing the court’s ruling, will need to be more specific, Mr. Perez said. Anatel has identified the problem and is working to first notify content delivery network providers and then telecom companies to block access to X in Brazil again, according to a person familiar with the situation. The same person said it was unclear how long it would take for providers to comply with the order.
The day before X returned to the market, the White House criticized the digital embargo imposed by Brazil.
“As far as social media is concerned, we have been very clear that we believe people should have access to social media. It is a form of freedom of expression,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, the press officer, in response to a question from Raquel Krähenbühl, a journalist at Brazilian channel TV Globo.
Elon Musk responded to the statement via X, writing: “Unexpected, but appreciated.” On Monday, the White House called Musk “irresponsible” for posting a tweet questioning why “no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala,” which he later deleted.
