Despite a nation-wide ban on the social media platform X in Brazil, some users have managed to regain access to the app by using a proxy service provided by Cloudflare. This workaround has allowed X users to bypass the ban imposed by Brazil’s Supreme Court, which was triggered by X owner Elon Musk’s refusal to comply with the country’s regulations on free speech and misinformation.
Pedro Diogenes, Latin America’s technical director for a cybersecurity distributor, explained that the use of Cloudflare as a proxy service works as a ‘digital shield’ to protect X servers and obscure the original IP addresses of users. This has allowed X users in Brazil to post content on the platform despite the ban, causing the number of X posts in the country to increase significantly in a short period of time.
The return of X to Brazilian users has sparked controversy, with some users openly defying the ban implemented by Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Former President Jair Bolsonaro, who supported Musk in the feud with De Moraes, condemned the ban as censorship and emphasized the importance of freedom of speech and expression in a democratic society.
Despite the efforts of the Brazilian government to block X and enforce fines on users using VPNs to access the platform, the return of X to some Brazilian users has raised questions about the effectiveness of the ban. Experts suggest that blocking Cloudflare, the proxy service used by X, would be a challenging task for the government due to its wide usage by Brazilian companies.
While the ban on X in Brazil remains in place, the return of the social media platform to some users through the use of a proxy service has highlighted the challenges faced by the government in enforcing such restrictions in the digital age. The debate around freedom of speech, censorship, and the role of technology companies in regulating online content continues to be a contentious issue in Brazil.
