X Bypasses Brazil Ban After Three Weeks Using Cloudflare

Sep 18, 2024, 06:47 PM

Brazil's Supreme Court banned the social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, from the country, citing concerns over misinformation and its potential influence on the 2024 elections. The ban, which lasted for three weeks, included fines of up to 50,000 reais per day for users accessing the platform via VPNs. Despite the ban, some right-wing politicians continued to use X, arguing it was a matter of free speech. The platform left Brazil with a debt of 18 million reais. The White House condemned the ban, with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre emphasizing the importance of access to social media as a form of freedom of speech. Recently, X managed to bypass the ban by adopting Cloudflare's services, which dynamically change IP addresses, making it difficult for Brazilian authorities to block the platform. This technical maneuver allowed many Brazilian users to regain access to X. The return of X has been described as inadvertent and temporary by the platform.