Countries where social network X is banned

PARIS — With the ban on X that took effect Saturday, Brazil joins a small club of countries that have taken similar measures against the social network, most of them run by authoritarian regimes.

Beyond permanent bans, some nations have temporarily restricted access to X, formerly Twitter, which has often been used by political dissidents to communicate.

These included Egypt in 2011 during the Arab Spring uprisings, Turkey in 2014 and 2023, and Uzbekistan around that country’s 2021 presidential election.

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Here is a list of some of the others.

China

Beijing banned Twitter in June 2009 – before securing the prominent place it enjoyed in Western media and politics for much of the 2010s.

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The block came two days before the 20th anniversary of the government’s crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in the capital’s Tiananmen Square.

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Since then, many Chinese have turned to local alternatives such as Weibo and WeChat.

IRAN

Twitter was also blocked by Tehran in 2009 when a wave of demonstrations erupted following disputed presidential elections in June.

However, the network has since been used to transmit information about dissident movements to the outside world, including demonstrations against Iran’s crackdown on women’s rights since late 2022.

Turkmenistan

The isolated Central Asian country of Turkmenistan blocked Twitter in the early 2010s, along with many other online services and foreign websites.

Authorities in Ashgabat closely monitor citizens’ use of the Internet, provided through the state monopoly operator TurkmenTelecom.

north korea

Pyongyang opened its own Twitter account in 2010 in an attempt to attract foreigners interested in the country.

But the app has been blocked along with Facebook, YouTube, and gambling and pornography sites since April 2016.

Internet access beyond a few government websites is under strict government surveillance in the hermit regime, with access limited to a few high-ranking officials.

Myanmar

X has been blocked since February 2021, when authorities targeted the app for use by opponents of the coup that toppled the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Since then, the junta has maintained tight control over Internet access in Myanmar.

Russia

Access to Twitter has been blocked since 2021 by Moscow, which has complained that the site allows users to spread “illegal content”.

An official ban came in March 2022, right after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Many Russian users continue to connect to X through VPN services that allow them to bypass the block.

Pakistan

X was banned from the parliamentary polls in February this year.

Pakistan’s military-backed government says the block is for security reasons.

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan – now in jail – has been targeted by widespread allegations of fraud spread through the platform against his opposition party.

Venezuela

Nicolas Maduro, who was declared the winner of July’s presidential election despite serious suspicions of fraud, ordered a 10-day suspension of access to X on August 9 as security forces violently cracked down on nationwide demonstrations.

The block remained in effect after the 10-day period expired.

Brazil

The country’s block on X came from the judiciary, through Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

He highlighted the reactivation of accounts that had been ordered suspended by Brazilian courts.

Users who connect to X through a VPN face a fine of 50,000 reais ($8,900) per day.