Brazil Bans X, Bluesky Gains 2 Million Users

Following Brazil's Supreme Court decision to ban Elon Musk's social media platform X (formerly Twitter), approximately 19 million users were left without access, leading to a significant surge in users for the decentralized platform Bluesky, which added 2 million new members in just one week. The ban resulted from legal issues surrounding X's failure to deactivate accounts promoting election misinformation, prompting many former X users to flock to Bluesky, which is co-founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Bluesky's server traffic increased dramatically, causing outages as it welcomed a flood of Brazilian users, and it has become the most downloaded app in Brazil. The platform plans to enhance its offerings, including upcoming video functionalities, to retain its growing user base. While Bluesky is still developing its features, its rapid growth reflects a broader trend of users seeking alternatives to mainstream social media platforms. It remains uncertain whether X will regain access in Brazil amid ongoing legal challenges.