RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Last week, billionaire Elon Musk's social media platform X was banned nationwide in Brazil following a clash with a Supreme Court justice. Users were prohibited from accessing X, and a $9,000 daily fine was imposed for using a virtual private network (VPN) to circumvent the suspension. In response, many X users in Brazil began migrating to alternative platforms, with Threads and Bluesky emerging as popular choices.
Threads, launched by Meta in response to Musk's acquisition of Twitter, quickly gained traction among former X users. Meanwhile, Bluesky, a platform developed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, saw a significant influx of users, particularly from Brazil. The platform's user base grew by 2.6 million, with 85% of new users coming from Brazil.
Bluesky and Threads have been actively engaging with Brazilian users, providing support and guidance as they transition to the new platforms. Users have been sharing tips, creating starter packs of recommended accounts to follow, and fostering a sense of community reminiscent of early-2010s Twitter.
For many Brazilians, this migration to new platforms evokes memories of transitioning from Google's Orkut to Facebook in the past. Bluesky's CEO highlighted the platform's mission to enable users to switch platforms while retaining their connections, promoting a more open and interconnected social media landscape.
The shift away from X has had a significant impact on Brazil's social media landscape, with Bluesky surpassing X in downloads and daily active users. The suspension of X also prompted discussions around user ownership of social relationships and the need for greater platform interoperability.
Despite some users attempting to defy the ban using VPNs, the majority of Brazilian X users have embraced the transition to alternative platforms. While some lamented the loss of X, others expressed optimism about the new digital spaces they were exploring.
Overall, the suspension of X in Brazil has sparked a wave of platform migration and community-building, underscoring the evolving dynamics of social media usage in the country.
