Elon Musk Announces X Will Cease Operations in Brazil Over 'Censorship Orders'

- A Brazilian judge has ordered the suspension of X after Elon Musk failed to appoint a new legal representative for the country. - Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes instructed the National Telecommunications Agency to limit access to X within 24 hours and mandated Apple and Google to remove X from their app stores within five days. - Daily fines of $50,000 Brazilian real (~$8,900 USD) will be imposed on those attempting to access X via VPN. - Musk criticized the decision, calling it a threat to free speech and accusing de Moraes of political motives. - The conflict between Musk and de Moraes began in April over the reactivation of accounts linked to misinformation and supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Source: [The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/30/24231286/x-brazil-ban-elon-musk-legal-representative)

- A record number of advertisers plan to cut spending on X next year due to concerns over extreme content. - Kantar's survey shows a net 26% of marketers will reduce ad spending on X in 2025, the largest pullback from any major platform. - Big brands have been leaving X since Musk's $44bn takeover in 2022, citing his free speech ethos and loosened content moderation. - Only 4% of marketers believe ads on X are brand safe, compared to 39% for Google. - Musk's adversarial relationship with advertisers continues, with legal threats against boycotting brands like Unilever and Mars. Source: [Financial Times](https://www.ft.com/content/cf023e18-a6c7-4d78-bcb5-f295b5bcb928)

- A federal judge has mandated Elon Musk’s X to disclose its list of shareholders, revealing key investors in the $44 billion acquisition of the platform formerly known as Twitter. - The unsealed document lists nearly 100 entities, including prominent venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and a fund linked to Sean 'Diddy' Combs. - Notable investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al Saud, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, and 8VC co-founder Joe Lonsdale. - The court’s decision follows a motion by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, emphasizing public interest in knowing the stakeholders of such an influential platform. - Despite Musk’s efforts to revitalize X with new features and subscription options, the platform faces financial challenges, with some investors’ stakes significantly devalued. Source: [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/08/21/elon-musk-x-investors/)

- Durov charged with complicity in child porn distribution, drug offenses, fraud, and money laundering - Judicial investigation involves collaboration between cybercrime and anti-fraud agencies - Custody period extended up to 96 hours until Aug. 28, 2024 - Charges include refusing to cooperate with authorities on lawful interception requests - Case likely to impact discussions on platform responsibility and user privacy at upcoming tech events Source: [Benzinga](https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cryptocurrency/24/08/40558693/telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-faces-12-serious-charges-french-prosecutor-reveals)

xAI rival of open ai chatgpt and Google bard...Have hired ex-engineers of Google deepmind, open ai, Microsoft..What's your views?

About time users understand that nothing comes for free :)

Quite confused why the rebranding is taking place. Twitter is such a good brand name, everybody gets it, and has positive blue colours too. X seems to be something very random. Almost instantly it does not reflect what the product would be. It’s great to see that Elon Musk takes audacious bets all the time, but it’s starting to feel like he’s someone who lacks any sense of how user’s think. This could be costly for Twitter as multiple of these changes compound.