A technical trick allowed the social network X to return to Brazil on Wednesday, bypassing the blockade imposed by the courts, a new episode in the standoff between the authorities and Elon Musk, whose services assured that it was an “involuntary” maneuver.
Some Brazilians were surprised on Wednesday to once again have access to the mobile application of the old Twitter via cellular network and Wi-Fi, while for other users access remained impossible.
A Supreme Court judge, Alexandre de Moraes, ordered the suspension of X on August 30, criticizing in particular the American billionaire’s platform for having ignored a series of judicial decisions linked to the fight against disinformation.
It was the Brazilian Association of Internet Service Providers (ABRINT), an industry group, that explained how the partial takeover of X had been technically possible.
“Application X has been updated […] overnight, which resulted in a significant change in its structure,” she said in a statement.
According to ABRINT, X’s use of Cloudflare, a cybersecurity company that uses constantly changing IP addresses, “makes blocking the application much more difficult.” Previously, IP addresses (which identify Internet users’ devices) were fixed and easily blocked.
However, “many of these IP addresses are shared with other legitimate services, such as banks and large platforms, making it impossible to block an IP without affecting other services,” the association explained.
Referring to “a delicate situation” for Internet providers, she said she was waiting for “official guidance” from the National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL).
In the evening, X assured that the restoration of its service was an “involuntary” effect of a change of server and would remain “temporary”.
This change “resulted in an involuntary and temporary restoration of service for Brazilian users,” Elon Musk’s network said, assuring that X would be “quickly” blocked again in that country.
The authorities appear to have been taken by surprise.
The Supreme Court “is verifying information regarding access to X by certain users. Apparently it is only a question of instability in the blocking of certain networks,” the high court initially responded. Later, it said it remained “for the time being without information” on this subject.
ANATEL told AFP that it is investigating “reported cases” of users accessing X, stressing that there had been no “change of decision” regarding the blocking.
The hashtags “He’s back” and “Cloudflare” were among the most used on Wednesday in Brazil.
“Magic”
At night, as the app was automatically updating for some Brazilians, Elon Musk wrote on his account: “Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology” – a variation on a well-known formula, seen as a “provocation” by the Brazilian press.
The billionaire had castigated the suspension, calling Judge Moraes a “dictator”. The Brazilian right led by former head of state Jair Bolsonaro followed suit.
The latter, who displays his closeness to the entrepreneur, was quick to post again on X.
“I congratulate all those who have pushed to defend democracy in Brazil,” Bolsonaro said, saying that “by banning the country’s largest social network, it is not a company that has been punished, but millions of Brazilians.”
The suspension was, however, supported by the government of left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in the name of respect for the law.
Asked by AFP, the secretary in charge of digital affairs at the Brazilian presidency, Joao Brant, declined to comment.
Some users had fun.
“Judge Alexandre de Moraes: I didn’t use a VPN to get in here, I just opened the app for my daily abstinence ritual and saw that it worked,” posted one user on X.
In blocking the network, Judge Moraes also provided for fines of 50,000 reais (about $12,500) per day for people who resorted to “technological subterfuges” to circumvent the blockage, such as the use of virtual private networks (VPNs).
The suspension of the platform in Brazil, where it had some 22 million users, has sparked a heated debate in Latin America’s largest country and beyond about the limits of freedom of expression on social media.
The reinstatement of X puts the judges of the Supreme Court “in check,” according to Alexandre Caramelo, professor of telecommunications at the Getulio Vargas Foundation.
“This proves that they don’t know what they are doing” and “are unaware of what is technically possible,” he told AFP.