Elon Musk’s X bypasses court ordered ban in Brazil through a software update

The social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, became accessible to numerous users in Brazil on Wednesday after an update to its communication network bypassed a block imposed by the country’s supreme court. This update utilised third-party cloud services, specifically those provided by the security company Cloudflare. The update enabled some Brazilian users to access X by routing their connections outside of the country, even without using a virtual private network, as reported by the Brazilian Association of Internet and Telecommunications Providers (Abrint). X was banned in the country at the end of August.
Abrint stated that the structural changes in X made it much more complicated to block. It said that under X’s previous system, the platform used specific IP addresses, which can allow internet companies to identify where data is coming from. Many of the IP addresses being used by X “are shared with other legitimate services, such as banks and large internet platforms, making it impossible to block an IP without affecting other services,” Abrint added.
As per the local reports, the Supreme Court has asked the country’s telecoms regulator, Anatel, to explain this unauthorised return of X.
But the return is only temporary. A spokesperson for X told the BBC that the restoration of the platform in Brazil was “inadvertent” and came after it changed its server provider. It has been reported that while X expects it to be inaccessible again soon, it will continue to work with the Brazilian government for the return.
In a statement, X said the company had switched network providers in order to continue providing services to its Latin American users, resulting in the temporary restoration.
Last month, following a prolonged dispute between X owner Elon Musk and Brazilian justice Alexandre de Moraes, Brazil’s supreme court ordered mobile and internet service providers to block the platform. Access to X was cut off within hours. Initially, Musk’s satellite internet company, Starlink, stated it would keep allowing access to X despite the ban, but later reversed that position.
Abrint has also noted that blocking X again would be challenging due to the technical changes and the widespread use of Cloudflare. It explained that restricting access to Cloudflare could disrupt government agencies and financial service providers. Abrint spokesperson stated that simply blocking Cloudflare means blocking half the internet.
Meanwhile, Anatel has identified the problem and is working to first notify content delivery network providers, followed by telecom companies, to block access again to X in Brazil, according to media reports. The same person said it is not clear how long it will take for the providers to comply with the order.