Some Brasilian users found themselves back on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, even though a national ban ordered by the Supreme Court had rendered the platform inaccessible. This sudden return seems to stem from a technical adjustment in how X’s servers are accessed, though it might not last long.
Last month, Brasil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the platform to be blocked across the country after a prolonged standoff with Elon Musk, X’s billionaire owner. The conflict revolved around issues of free speech, far-right accounts, and misinformation. To reinforce the ban, de Moraes also implemented fines for anyone using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to bypass the block and access X.
For several weeks, X remained mostly off-limits in Brasil, but on Wednesday, some users, including an Associated Press journalist, regained access to the platform. The activity on X skyrocketed in the country—posts surged from under a million on Tuesday to over two million by Wednesday afternoon, according to data analysis company Bites.
Experts have identified that the renewed access might be due to X rerouting its users through Cloudflare, a content delivery network that acts like a digital shield for online services. Pedro Diogenes, technical director for Latin America at cybersecurity distributor CLM, explained how Cloudflare’s servers work as a protective layer between users and X’s own servers. This extra layer helps hide X’s original IP address, allowing some users to slip past the ban for now.
Brasil’s telecom regulator, Anatel, is currently investigating the situation and plans to report its findings to the Supreme Court. However, de Moraes’ ruling hasn’t changed, and a panel of justices has upheld his decision. The fines for VPN users, which have sparked some backlash, particularly from Brasil’s bar association, remain in place.
The Supreme Court has not commented on any further actions it might take, but X issued a statement on its platform, noting that the disruption in Brasil also affected service across Latin America. According to X, the company switched network providers, which led to the “inadvertent and temporary restoration of service” to Brasilian users. They indicated that the platform is expected to be blocked again soon.
Amidst the chaos, former President Jair Bolsonaro expressed his approval of X’s return by posting from his account on Wednesday. Bolsonaro, who has aligned with Musk in his clash with de Moraes, framed the ban as an act of censorship by an overly aggressive judge.
Many Brasilian users, thrilled with X’s comeback, took the opportunity to mock de Moraes directly on the platform, insisting they weren’t using VPNs to access the site. So far, no fines have been reported for those using VPNs.
Cloudflare, the company providing this digital shield, has a reputation for offering its services without much concern for the content hosted on the sites it protects—up to a point. In 2017, it dropped the neo-Nazi website Daily Stormer after a violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and in 2022, it cut ties with the stalking and harassment site Kiwi Farms, citing an “immediate threat to human life.”
However, X is a mainstream social media platform, even if it’s known for occasionally hosting controversial content. It’s not yet clear whether Brasil’s ban will be enough to force Cloudflare to abandon X. According to David Nemer, a University of Virginia researcher who specializes in the anthropology of technology, Cloudflare generally cooperates with government orders, which could mean it might comply if Brasil’s Supreme Court asks them to stop supporting X.
Still, blocking Cloudflare altogether would be a huge challenge. As Nemer noted in a post on Bluesky (another social platform), many Brasilian companies rely on Cloudflare for their own services, making a total block almost impossible.
A source close to Cloudflare, speaking anonymously, emphasized that the company didn’t take any specific actions to help X evade Brasil’s ban. Instead, X recently switched to Cloudflare from another service provider, which could explain why the block temporarily failed. However, the person added that this workaround isn’t likely to last long.
While some Brasilian users have enjoyed a brief return to X, the platform’s long-term accessibility in the country remains uncertain. It’s only a matter of time before the Supreme Court decides its next move. For now, the situation continues to evolve, and it seems like Brasilian users may once again lose access to X in the near future.
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