Nitter Project Taken Offline After Receiving Cease-and-Desist from X Corp.
The open-source project Nitter, which allowed users to read posts from Twitter (now known as X) without using the official platform, has gone offline. According to its GitHub page, cease and desist letters were sent by X Corp., alleging that Nitter unlawfully used X’s API for data scraping. The move follows similar legal action against services like XCancel, which also received a takedown notice from X. This development highlights growing tensions between social media platforms and third-party tools that provide alternative access to their content. TechCrunch reports that the issue centers on alleged violations of terms of service through API misuse. Nitter’s shutdown could impact users who rely on it for ad-free or open-source alternatives to mainstream social networks. The legal pressure from X Corp. signals a broader strategy by major tech companies to control access and usage of their platforms, potentially affecting the ecosystem of independent developers and alternative services.
Topics: Nitter open source scraping X