Brazilian X Users Regain Access to Social Media Platform After Ban
In a surprising turn of events, some X users in Brazil have reported being able to access the social media website once again, the BBC has learned. This development comes after the platform, formerly known as Twitter, was banned in the country on August 30th.
The change was made possible after the company, owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk, moved their service to servers hosted by Cloudflare, according to ABRINT, the country’s leading trade group for Internet Service Providers (ISP). This move has made it much harder to block applications on phones, the trade group explained.
ABRINT revealed that the new system used dynamic internet protocols (IPs) that constantly change, making it difficult to block specific IPs. Basílio Rodriguez Pérez, an ABRINT advisor, noted that these dynamic IPs could also be linked to critical services within Brazil, such as the popular digital payment system PIX.
Mr. Pérez expressed certainty that X made the change to circumvent the nation’s ban on the platform, stating, “There is no doubt that this could have happened by chance or unintentionally.”
While some experts believe Cloudflare could help Brazil reinforce the ban, the company declined to comment when contacted by the BBC. The platform was initially banned in Brazil last month after failing to appoint a new legal representative in the country, as ordered by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
The feud between Justice Moraes and Mr. Musk began in April when the judge suspended dozens of X accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation. In August, Justice Moraes gave companies a deadline to remove X from app stores and block its use on iOS and Android devices, threatening fines for those still accessing the platform.
It remains unclear how Brazil will respond to X finding a way around the ban, especially considering the country is one of the largest markets for Mr. Musk’s social media network. The situation continues to evolve as users navigate the changing landscape of social media access in Brazil.
