Elon Musk's X dodges court-ordered block in Brazil

Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, became accessible to many users in Brazil on Wednesday after an update to its communications network circumvented a block ordered by the country's Supreme Court.

The X update used cloud services provided by third parties, such as security firm CloudFlare, allowing some Brazilian users to take a route outside the country to reach X without a virtual private network, according to Abrint, the Brazilian Association of Internet and Telecommunications Providers.

According to Abrint, the number of Brazilians accessing X is unknown. X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“I believe the change was probably intentional. Why would X use a third party service that is ultimately slower than his own? Basilio Perez, board member of Abrint, said.

Last month, after a month-long dispute between X owner Elon Musk and Brazilian Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court ordered Brazilian mobile and internet service providers to block the platform. X's access was cut off within hours. Initially, Starlink, Musk's satellite internet service provider, said it would continue to allow access to X in defiance of the ban, but it has scaled back those announcements.

Perez added that it would be difficult to block X a second time due to technological changes and CloudFlare's ubiquity, meaning that banning access to its services could endanger government agencies and financial service providers: “You can't just block CloudFlare because you block. Half of the Internet.”

According to Perez, any revised order from Brazil's national telecommunications company Anatel, which is responsible for implementing the court ruling, would have to be more specific. Anatel has identified the problem and is working to notify content delivery network providers first, following telecom companies to block access to X again in Brazil, according to a person familiar with the situation. The same person said it was unclear how long it would take suppliers to comply with the order.

The day before X became available again, the White House criticized Brazil's digital ban.

“When it comes to social media, we've been very clear that we think people should have access to social media. This is a form of freedom of speech,” press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said in response to a question from Raquel Krehenbuhl, a reporter for Brazilian outlet TV Globo.

Musk responded to the statement via X, writing, “Unexpected, but appreciated.” On Monday, the White House called Musk “irresponsible” for posting a tweet asking why “no one is trying to kill Biden/Orange,” which he later deleted.