Cloudflare's Inadvertent Role in Reviving Access to X in Brazil
ICARO Media Group
Access to the social network X in Brazil was briefly restored due to a strategic move by the company to switch to Cloudflare as its network provider. Despite government orders for Internet service providers to block X, the social network became temporarily accessible in Brazil. X's Global Government Affairs account mentioned that the shift to Cloudflare inadvertently resulted in the temporary restoration of service for Brazilian users. The platform, however, is likely to become inaccessible again soon as efforts to work with the Brazilian government continue.
Brazilian ISPs, including Elon Musk's Starlink service, had been complying with government orders to block X for the last two weeks. Brazil's Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes had issued the blocking order after X refused to suspend accounts spreading disinformation. Following X's brief reemergence, Moraes issued a new order imposing daily fines on X for failing to comply with the suspension order. This led to the seizure of funds from both Starlink and X accounts as a means of collecting fines.
Reports indicated that X had begun routing traffic through Cloudflare when it transitioned to a new network provider, enabling a loophole in the blocking measures put in place by ISPs. Cloudflare, in response to contact by Anatel, agreed to isolate X's traffic so that ISPs could resume blocking the platform without disrupting other websites utilizing Cloudflare's services. Abrint, a trade group for Brazilian ISPs, expressed difficulties in complying with the blocking order due to Cloudflare's use of constantly changing and shared IP addresses, affecting not only X but other services dependent on Cloudflare as well. The advice given by Abrint was for ISPs to await guidance from Anatel rather than take unilateral action.