The American decentralized microblogging platform Bluesky has seen a significant surge in user growth in Brazil following the ban on Elon Musk's social media platform X. The platform gained one million new users in three days.
X Ban in Brazil
On August 30, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice ordered the suspension of X in the country after Elon Musk refused to appoint a legal representative for the firm. The following day, a Bluesky developer reported a substantial increase in daily traffic on the platform as new users rushed to register.
Bluesky's Response
According to the developer: “For anyone interested in how it's going with the Brazil migration to Bluesky, we're consistently at 15x our normal daily peak traffic.” Bluesky is a decentralized social media platform and public benefit corporation owned by Jay Graber. It was announced by Jack Dorsey in 2019, opened to the public in February 2024, and reported a user base of more than 7.6 million in September.
Ongoing Conflict with X
Meanwhile, X has been engaged in an escalating legal battle with Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The social media company refused to block certain accounts as part of a broader crackdown on what Moraes claimed was election disinformation. On September 2, a panel of five Supreme Court justices upheld Moraes' August 30 order to suspend the platform in the country. The crypto community reacted strongly to the censorship of X in Brazil, suggesting that other countries might follow suit.
This situation highlights the growing popularity of decentralized platforms like Bluesky, especially in regions with increased social media censorship.
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