Brazilian users flock to Bluesky following nationwide ban on X
X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, has been banned in Brazil following a directive from Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The ban was implemented after Musk failed to appoint a new legal representative for X in Brazil. This decision has led Brazilian users to switch to Bluesky, an alternative social network. "Brazil, you're setting new all-time-highs for activity on Bluesky!" announced the official Bluesky account.
Bluesky experiences unprecedented traffic surge
Bluesky developer Paul Frazee has acknowledged the unprecedented surge in traffic following X's ban. "There will almost certainly be some outages and performance issues," he warned, adding, "We've never seen traffic like this. Hang with us!" The platform, which operates similarly to X but is decentralized and built on the AT Protocol (also developed by Bluesky), is now witnessing a new milestone of 1,000 events per second on its relay.
Enforcement measures and penalties for X access
Justice de Moraes has directed the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) to restrict access to X within 24 hours. He also gave Apple and Google a five-day deadline to remove X from their mobile app stores. Additionally, daily fines of R$50,000 (approximately ₹7.48 lakh) will be imposed on individuals attempting to access X via a virtual private network (VPN).
Musk's feud with de Moraes and X's closure
The ban on X follows a long-standing dispute between Musk and de Moraes. Earlier this month, Musk shut down X's offices in Brazil due to threats from de Moraes to arrest the company's legal representative for non-compliance with "censorship orders." In April, de Moraes initiated an investigation into X after Musk reactivated accounts that had been ordered blocked for spreading misinformation.
De Moraes's order impacts Starlink's operations
In a related development, Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX (another company affiliated with Musk), revealed that de Moraes had issued an order freezing its finances. "This order is based on an unfounded determination that Starlink should be responsible for the fines levied — unconstitutionally — against X," stated Starlink. This move further escalates the tension between Musk's enterprises and Brazilian authorities.
