Update makes X available again to many in Brazil

19/9/2024 5:53

        Social-media platform X
        became accessible to many users in Brazil on Wednesday as an
        update to its communications network circumvented a block order
        by the country's Supreme Court.
        
        The X update used cloud services offered by third parties,
        allowing some Brazilian users to take a route outside of the
        country to reach X, even without a virtual private network,
        according to Abrint, the Brazilian Association of Internet and
        Telecommunications Providers.
        
        The number of Brazilians accessing X is unknown, according
        to Abrint.
        
        X did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
        
        “I believe the change was probably intentional. Why would X
        use a third-party service that ends up being slower than its
        own?” Basilio Perez, a board member at Abrint, told Reuters.
        
        Last month, after a months-long dispute between X owner Elon
        Musk and Brazilian Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme
        Court ordered Brazil's mobile and internet service providers to
        block the platform.
        
        Access to X was shut within hours.
        
        Any revised order from Brazil's national telecommunications
        agency Anatel, which is responsible for implementing the court
        ruling, will need to be more specific, because blocking cloud
        access is complex and may jeopardize government agencies and
        financial services providers, Perez said.
        
        Anatel has identified the problem and is working to first
        notify content delivery network providers, followed by telecom
        companies to block access again to X in Brazil, according to a
        person familiar with the situation.
        
        The same person said it is not clear how long it will take
        for the providers to comply with the order.