Elon Musk's X, formerly known as Twitter, unexpectedly became accessible to certain Brazilian users on September 17, even though the service remains officially banned across the country.
X attributed this temporary access to a recent transition to a new server hosting provider, Cloudflare. The company emphasized that this was not an intentional move to defy the court-imposed restrictions, adding that they were working with the Brazilian government to legally return to the country.
However, representatives from the Brazilian Association of Internet and Telecommunications Providers (ABRINT) suggested that Musk might be utilizing Cloudflare to mask the platform's IP address, effectively rerouting traffic and complicating enforcement of the ban.
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The court order, issued by Justice Alexandre De Moraes, includes penalties for those attempting to bypass the ban. Brazilian users caught accessing X through virtual private networks (VPNs) face daily fines of approximately $8,900.
This measure has been met with criticism from legal experts and civil rights advocates, who argue that enforcing such penalties would be nearly impossible and could infringe on personal privacy rights.
As a result of the conflict between Musk's platform and Brazilian officials, many users are turning to decentralized social media platforms, like Bluesky, that promise greater resilience against censorship and control.
As the story develops, it remains to be seen how both X and Brazilian authorities will navigate these challenges.