In a Detour, Musk Reinstates “X” Platform in Brazil

19th September 2024

2 minutes read

In a Detour, Musk Reinstates "X" Platform in Brazil

Elon Musk and his platform “X,” banned in Brazil for three weeks, have managed to bypass the Brazilian Supreme Court’s ruling, allowing the platform to resume operations unexpectedly and temporarily through a workaround.

According to “The New York Times,” the platform made a technical adjustment to its Internet traffic routing mechanism, enabling it to bypass the digital barriers imposed by Brazilian Internet service providers in recent weeks.

However, the head of Brazil’s telecommunications regulatory agency (Anatel) stated that his agency believes it will soon be able to reinstate the ban.

The American newspaper added that this new development highlights Musk‘s unwillingness to back down in Brazil, making this conflict a significant test of power between national sovereignty and the transnational strength of Internet companies.

Previously, after accusations that the company had defied orders to remove certain accounts, Brazilian judicial rulings led to “X” being shut down. The platform acknowledged that some users had managed to bypass the restrictions imposed on them.

To circumvent the ban in Brazil, “X” resorted to using services from “Cloudflare,” a key Internet infrastructure company based in San Francisco.

Initially, experts believed it would be difficult to block Cloudflare due to its vital role in supporting millions of other websites.

However, Cloudflare complied with Brazilian authorities’ demands by agreeing to separate “X’s” traffic from its other services.

Cloudflare’s decision paved the way for Brazilian Internet providers to more accurately target and block the platform without affecting other sites.

Brazil’s telecommunications regulatory agency issued new orders to Internet service providers to block “X” starting Thursday.

For its part, “X” acknowledged that its return to service was temporary and affirmed its ongoing efforts to cooperate with the Brazilian government.

This development, according to the newspaper, represents a shift in “X’s” tone compared to its owner Elon Musk‘s previous criticism of the Brazilian Supreme Court.

Brazilian officials expect the confrontation to continue, describing it as a “cat-and-mouse game” with Musk as he persistently attempts to circumvent the ban.