X says its return in Brazil after ban ‘inadvertent’
Some X users in Brazil were unexpectedly able to access the social media platform on Wednesday, despite a ban imposed by the country’s judiciary last month.
Following an update to the way its servers are accessed within Brazil, Brazilian users flocked to the site. An X spokesperson clarified late Wednesday that this restoration was unintended.
“To ensure we provide the best service to our users, we updated our network providers. This change led to an unintentional and temporary restoration of service for Brazilian users,” the spokesperson said.
The company’s explanation caught some observers by surprise.
“Everything that happened during the day led us to believe that it was on purpose,” said Basílio Rodriguez Pérez, advisor to ABRINT, the country’s leading trade group for Internet Service Providers (ISP).
ABRINT said X moved to servers hosted by Cloudflare, and that the site appeared to be using dynamic internet protocols (IPs) that change constantly, indicating to him that the change in access to Brazilian users was purposeful. By contrast, the previous system had relied on specific IPs that could be more easily blocked.
Basílio Rodriguez Pérez, ABRINT advisor, said those dynamic IPs could also be linked to critical services within Brazil.
“Many of these IPs are shared with other legitimate services, such as banks and large internet platforms, making it impossible to block an IP without affecting other services.”
That includes the service PIX, which millions of Brazilians depend on to make digital payments.
Despite the change in server, some experts said Cloudflare was well-positioned to help Brazil reinforce the ban.
“Actually, I think the ban would be even more effective if Cloudflare really cooperates with the government,” said Felipe Autran, a constitutional lawyer in Brasilia, the country’s capital.
“I think they will, since they are such a huge provider for many Brazilian enterprises and also the government.”
Cloudflare declined to comment when contacted by the BBC.
