X has issued a cease-and-desist notice to Nitter, an open-source project that allows users to read X posts without logging in or opening the app. The company alleges that Nitter circumvents its API and performs unauthorized automated data collection, including access to user accounts and session tokens, in violation of X's platform rules.
Nitter's maintainer responded by taking the service offline and suspending development while seeking legal counsel. The project, which provided a lightweight alternative interface to X's platform, has become a point of contention as X enforces stricter controls over third-party access to its data. The cease-and-desist demands both permanent service termination and removal of the project's repository.