X has moved against Nitter, the open-source project that let people read X posts through privacy-oriented front ends, according to TechCrunch. The outlet reports that X sent cease-and-desist letters demanding that Nitter instances and the project’s code repository be taken down over alleged scraping. Nitter’s own notice, quoted by TechCrunch, says cease-and-desist letters were sent by X Corp. on August 24, 2026, demanding a permanent takedown of Nitter instances and the project repository. The notice says Nitter.net is offline, development has stopped for the time being, and the project’s creator is seeking legal advice. Techmeme’s summary of the TechCrunch report also states that Nitter was an open-source front end that let users read X without an account and that Nitter.net is now offline. A Hacker News front-page item links to the Nitter GitHub issue under the headline that the project received a cease-and-desist. The legal claims remain allegations. TechCrunch says it viewed X’s letter, which accuses Nitter of “unlawful use and circumvention” of X’s Application Programming Interface and associated data. According to the report, X alleges Nitter scraped X data and accessed X accounts and session tokens in violation of X’s rules. TechCrunch reports that X’s lawyers cited state and federal laws, including the Texas Harmful Access by Computer Act and the Lanham Act. The letter reportedly gave Nitter until 5 p.m. EST on August 25 to shut down. Nitter had already been pressured by X’s technical changes. TechCrunch reports that Nitter.net, the project’s flagship instance, temporarily went dark in 2024 after X introduced new API restrictions. The project worked by fetching public X posts and removing ads, tracking cookies, and JavaScript, giving users a way to view posts without an X account or app session. After that earlier crackdown, TechCrunch says people who wanted to host a Nitter instance had to connect it to a real X account, citing the project’s GitHub page. Development later resumed and instances returned, but the latest move shifts the pressure from technical restrictions to legal demands. The broader context is that major social networks increasingly restrict third-party readers and unauthenticated access, according to TechCrunch. For X, routing readers through official surfaces gives the company more control over access, account requirements, tracking, and advertising. For Nitter users and instance operators, the immediate result is narrower access and higher legal risk. Who benefits: X benefits if users are pushed back toward its official app and logged-in web experience. That gives the platform more control over access, ads, tracking cookies, and account enforcement. Who's exposed: Nitter’s maintainer and operators of Nitter instances are most directly exposed to X’s legal demands. Users who relied on Nitter to read X without an account or app session lose a practical access route if the shutdown holds.