Social media platform X briefly became accessible in Brazil on Wednesday, despite a Supreme Court order blocking it. The platform’s owner, Elon Musk, has been in a long-standing dispute with Brazilian Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Last month, the Supreme Court ordered Brazil’s internet providers to block X, and access was quickly cut off.
However, on Wednesday, Brazilians flooded back to the platform, with many celebrating what they saw as a way to bypass the law. X later clarified that the restored access was unintentional. According to the company, a switch in network providers had led to the “inadvertent and temporary service restoration” in Brazil. This was triggered by the shutdown, which also disrupted infrastructure in Latin America.
X warned that access to the platform in Brazil would likely be blocked again soon. The Brazilian Association of Internet and Telecommunications Providers (Abrint) explained that the update allowed some users to access X through third-party cloud services.
Brazil’s telecommunications regulator, Anatel, is working to block access to X again. However, it is unclear how long this process will take. Anatel will need to notify telecom companies and content delivery networks to enforce the court’s order.
Abrint board member Basilio Perez warned that blocking access via cloud services is complex and could disrupt critical services like government and financial institutions. Therefore, any new order will need to be carefully worded.
