X lost 40 million users after being banned in Brazil

Bluesky has gained 2 million new users over the last week, which can only mean one thing: something fishy is going on at X. And, indeed, X was banned in Brazil, which means the platform will lose an estimated 40 million monthly active users. 

The dispute between X and the Brazilian government started in April, when a Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes demanded the removal of seven accounts posting misinformation in support of former president Jair Bolsonaro. Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” did not comply with the takedown requests, even though he’s complied with similar takedown requests from governments in India and Turkey.

Is X’s loss Bluesky’s gain? We’re digging in on today’s TechCrunch Minute.