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X (Twitter) loses 21 million users in Brazil ban

By Ninian Carter

September 3, 2024 - In an ongoing feud over online disinformation, Brazil’s Supreme Court has upheld a ban on X (formerly known as Twitter) for missing a deadline to appoint a new legal representative in the country.

An ongoing months-long feud in Brazil over the suspension of more than 200 X (formerly known as Twitter) accounts – many of which belonged to supporters of the former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro – has culminated in X being banned completely.

Three out of five justices in Brazil’s Supreme Court upheld a majority ban on the social media service for missing a deadline to appoint a new legal representative in the country.

X closed its headquarters in Brazil – one of its biggest markets with more than 21 million users – in August, claiming its representative had been threatened with arrest if she did not comply with orders it described as “censorship”.

In the legal ruling, companies like Apple and Google have been given less than a week to remove X from its app stores and block its use on iOS and Android devices in Brazil.

Individuals or businesses caught accessing X by using virtual private networks (VPNs) can be fined R$50,000 (around $9,000).

But for every loser, there is a winner. With access to X now illegal, many Brazilians are turning to the Bluesky platform as an alternative, including Brazil’s president Lula da Silva.

The decentralised microblogging platform says it picked up 500,000 new users in Brazil in just two days.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 03/09/2024; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Getty Images
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