Despite the nationwide ban imposed by the Supreme Court, some Brazilian users managed to reconnect with X on Wednesday. This unexpected reunion was made possible by X apparently altering the way its servers are accessed. However, the resumption of access may be short-lived.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes had ordered the nationwide block of X on August 30 following a series of disputes with billionaire Elon Musk over account takedowns and free speech boundaries in Brazil. He also imposed fines on individuals using virtual private networks (VPN) to access the platform.
Until Wednesday, X had been effectively inaccessible in the country. However, experts analyzing X's IP addresses noted indications that the company had started routing users through Cloudflare's servers, a content delivery network, before reaching its own servers.
Cloudflare acts as a 'digital shield' for X, safeguarding the company's servers by acting as a proxy between users and X's servers. This process filters traffic and prevents the original Internet Protocol (IP) address from being identified.
Brazil's telecommunications regulator Anatel stated that it is investigating the situation and will report its findings to the Supreme Court. The court's decision to block X was upheld by a panel of justices, although it is yet to be reviewed by the full bench. De Moraes' VPN fine has faced criticism, including from the nation's bar association.
Former president Jair Bolsonaro welcomed the return of X, aligning himself with Musk in the conflict with de Moraes and characterizing the ban as censorship by an overzealous judge.
Some Brazilian X users celebrated the platform's return, with several affirming to de Moraes that they were not using a VPN. No reports have emerged of fines being imposed on VPN users.
Cloudflare, known for providing services to websites regardless of content, has a history of protecting sites but has limits. It remains uncertain whether Cloudflare will continue to support X amid Brazil's ban.
De Moraes may explore options to compel compliance, including targeting Musk's satellite-based internet service provider Starlink. Last week, de Moraes seized approximately $3 million from X and Starlink's bank accounts to settle X's fines.
Legal experts have raised concerns about de Moraes' actions, questioning the freezing of Starlink's account for X's fines. Despite Musk's ownership of X and SpaceX, which operates Starlink, de Moraes views the two companies as part of the same economic group.
De Moraes could potentially escalate measures against Musk, as he has been doing since the ban, to enforce compliance with the court's orders.
