2024-09-19 01:53:20
Photo Caption, Despite the ban made by the STF, X (formerly Twitter) started working again in some Brazilian cities
Updated 27 minutes ago
The return of the social network X (formerly Twitter) in cities like São Paulo and Belo Horizonte from the early hours of this Wednesday (18/9) caught the attention of users and Brazilian authorities.
The return of X, therefore, is the latest episode in the fight between Musk, considered the richest man in the world, and Alexandre de Moraes.
How did the network manage to circumvent, even partially, the ban imposed by the Brazilian courts and start working again in Brazil?
Experts interviewed by BBC News Brasil explained that the return of the network is only possible thanks to a technological change that will “change” the blocks imposed by telephone and internet providers in Brazil.
According to them, X started to host its content on a network known as Cloudflare, one of the most comprehensive in the world. By doing this, the barrier previously implemented by Brazilian operators no longer has any effect.
Experts interviewed by BBC News Brasil are divided on the strategy of change. For one of them, it would be absurd to say that the change received by X will have as his first decision to “dribble” Moraes’ decision.
For another, there will be evidence that the maneuver carried out by X has the specific objective of circumventing the STF order.
In a note sent after the publication of the report, X said that the return of the social network in some parts of Brazil was “unintentional and temporary”.
“Although we hope that the platform will become invalid again in Brazil soon, we continue our efforts to work with the Brazilian government to return it to the Brazilian population soon,” said the memo, which did not mention the Brazilian Judiciary.
The statement also says that there is indeed a change in the server used.
“When the service for Brazilian users”, the text says.
Blockades and ‘trucks with altered license plates’
The technical director of the company Sage Networks, Thiago Ayub, explained to BBC News Brasil how the change took place that allowed X to return to the country.
He said that in the past, X had hosted its services on its own providers.
Now, he explained, X started using a third-party network, Cloudflare, one of the first companies in the content hosting and cybersecurity area.
The expert said that, when the STF ordered the ban of X in Brazil, operators and internet providers in Brazil complied with the order, denying access to the IP addresses of X providers in the country.
Now, however, the content is at another address and therefore outside the list of previously blocked addresses.
Ayub compared suppliers to logistics companies that, to deliver, need to use trucks.
According to him, it seems that instead of using trucks with licenses banned by the STF blockade, X is using “vehicles” from a different company with license plates that are not on the list of operators used until then.
As the plates are different, the barrier does not work.
“Each internet connection has an identification number called an IP address. It is similar to a license plate. This new server, as it uses another method, is like another car with a different license plate, so it is not part of the main block list, “he said.
Risk of blackout?
For Ayub, the measure taken by X creates an additional problem for the STF, the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) and internet operators and providers in Brazil.
According to him, to take X offline again, it would be necessary, basically, to block access to the Cloudflare network.
This could harm a series of other services, including banks, internet-based platforms and even payments through Pix.
“The situation is very complicated. Blocking Cloudflare’s servers will, essentially, block all customers using the same services. Many important companies abroad and in Brazil have websites that are hosted indirectly through the same infrastructure. This can lead to the blackout of very popular sites in Brazil “, he said.
Ayub said that internet operators and national providers have not decided what they will do now.
David Nemer, an expert in the science of technology and professor at the University of Virginia, evaluates the dilemma in the same way.
“Operators can block Cloudflare, but it will block the entire site, affecting sites and services not associated with X,” he said.
According to Nemer, the only technical alternative for X to be blocked again in Brazil would be for Cloudflare itself to block it. The problem, according to Nemer, is that the company will not have a representative in Brazil.
Felipe Autran, a constitutional lawyer, stated that he believes that Cloudfare will cooperate with the Brazilians, “since they are a great supplier for many Brazilian companies and also for the government”.
Cloudflare declined to comment when contacted by the BBC.
Momo or not?
For Ayub, there would be no evidence to attribute the change to a deliberate attempt by X to circumvent the ban by the STF.
“It would be bold to assume that the intention is to attack the court’s decision, but in practice, this is what ended up happening. We can only say that the intention is a decision if the company shows itself. But those first It is very surprising because this change happened after the ban,” he said.
As for Nemer, there will be signs that the strategy is intended to disrespect Moraes’ authority.
Nemer said that, when he checked the addresses of the servers used by X around the world, he found that the only access from Brazil was made by Cloudflare.
According to you, in all other countries, access will be done through your own X servers.
“Musk made this change in Brazil. Only in Brazil, the delivery of the X content is done by the Cloudflare server,” he told BBC News Brasil.
Argument
The legal dispute between the STF and Musk’s network ended in the suspension of the platform in Brazil at the end of August.
The decision was made after the company failed to comply with a series of court orders, which included appointing a legal representative in the country and removing certain profiles and content.
While the STF is complying with the decisions, Musk has refused to comply, accusing the Brazilian Court of Justice of threatening democracy.
The billionaire argued that his actions were part of the fight for freedom of expression.
However, Minister Alexandre de Moraes, responsible for the decision, counters by saying that Musk confuses freedom of expression with the right to be involved in the text message.
To this day, X continues to not appoint a legal representative to act in Brazil.
BBC News Brasil sent questions to Anatel and the STF about X’s return to work in the country.
The STF said, via email, that it had no information to provide about the case.
In a note, Anatel did not respond to the questions sent by the report, but said that it “keeps monitoring regarding the freezing order” made by the STF and that “the result of this monitoring is reported directly” to the Court.
* With information from Ben Derico and Lily Jamali, BBC News
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