Technology
X sends cease-and-desist letter to open-source project Nitter over data scraping allegations
The social media platform demanded the permanent shutdown of Nitter's code repository and public instances, citing legal violations.
The short version
- X issued a cease-and-desist letter to Nitter, an open-source project that allowed users to view public X posts without ads, tracking cookies, or an account.
- X alleges that Nitter engaged in data scraping, unauthorized account access, and API circumvention in violation of state and federal laws.
- Nitter creator Zedeus has taken the flagship site offline and paused development to seek legal counsel.
Key facts
- X sent cease-and-desist letters on August 24, 2026, demanding the permanent takedown of Nitter instances and its code repository by August 25 at 5 p.m. EST.[TechCrunch]
- X's legal team claims Nitter violated various state and federal laws, including the Texas Harmful Access by Computer Act and the Lanham Act, by circumventing its API and accessing accounts and session tokens.[TechCrunch]
- Nitter creator Zedeus confirmed that nitter.net has been taken offline and development is paused while legal advice is sought.[TechCrunch]
- Multiple third-party Nitter instances also received cease-and-desist letters from X.[TechCrunch]
What remains uncertain
- It is uncertain whether the developer of Nitter will challenge the cease-and-desist letter or permanently shut down the open-source repository.[TechCrunch]