Some users in Brazil regained access to X on Wednesday, despite a ban imposed by the country’s judiciary last month.
Brazilian users flocked to the platform after X, owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk, modified the way its servers are accessed within the country.
The platform’s reactivation in Brazil was unintentional, an X spokesperson clarified in a statement late Wednesday.
“To continue providing optimal service to our users, we changed network providers. This change resulted in an inadvertent and temporary service restoration to Brazilian users.”
“While we expect the platform to be inaccessible again in Brazil soon, we continue efforts to work with the Brazilian government to return very soon for the people of Brazil,” an X spokesperson said in a statement.
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 approached by the BBC.
Brazil is considered one of the largest markets for Elon Musk’s social media platform.
The platform was banned last month after it failed to meet a court-imposed deadline to appoint a new legal representative in the country.
This ban marked a significant escalation in the ongoing dispute between Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and Musk, which began in April when the judge ordered the suspension of several X accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation.
At one point, Musk’s satellite internet provider, Starlink — a subsidiary of SpaceX — announced it would allow its Brazilian customers to access X. However, Starlink reversed its decision after Brazil’s telecommunications agency threatened to revoke its operating license.
Observers in Brazil have voiced frustration with both X and the Brazilian government over their strained relationship.
“It’s a game of chess and we are the pieces on the board,” Mr Pérez said. “But it’s not us who are playing. It’s the government and X who are playing.”