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X sends cease-and-desist to open source project Nitter over alleged scraping

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Nitter, an open source project that allowed people to read X posts without logging into or even opening the X app, has received cease-and-desist letters from X demanding that it shut down. The news was shared via a brief message posted to the project’s website, and follows X’s earlier attempts to knock Nitter offline by technical means.

The service also powers a number of other sites, including XCancel, that allow people to view X posts directly.

This isn’t X’s first attempt to shut down Nitter. In 2024, Nitter’s flagship instance, Nitter.net, went dark temporarily after X rolled out new API restrictions. Nitter worked by fetching public X posts and then stripping out the ads, tracking cookies, and JavaScript, giving people a clean, clutter-free way to read posts without an account or the app.

After that crackdown, those who wanted to host a Nitter instance had to connect it to a real X account, according to the project’s GitHub page. Despite the restrictions, development picked back up and Nitter instances came back online.

This time, X is working to shut down Nitter and its instances via legal means. Nitter’s website states that the Nitter.net project is offline while its creator seeks legal advice after receiving a cease-and-desist letter. That creator, a developer who goes by the handle Zedeus, told TechCrunch by email that other Nitter instances received similar letters.

On Nitter’s website, the message currently reads:

On 24 August 2026 cease and desist letters have been sent by X Corp. demanding a permanent takedown of Nitter instances and the project’s repository.

nitter.net is offline and development has stopped for the time being. I’m seeking legal advice and won’t be commenting further on the specifics for now.

Thank you to everyone who used, hosted, packaged, donated and contributed to Nitter over the past seven years.

The letter from X, which TechCrunch has viewed, accuses Nitter of an “unlawful use and circumvention of X’s Application Programming Interface (API) and associated data,” through its service, saying that X has evidence that Nitter scraped X data and accessed X accounts and session tokens in violation of X’s rules.

Lawyers for X said the actions are in violation of “various state and federal laws, including, but not limited to, the Texas Harmful Access by Computer Act (§ 143.001 and § 33.02) and the Lanham Act (15 U.S.C. §§ 1114, 1125).” The letter gave Nitter until 5 p.m. EST on August 25 to shut down.

X is hardly alone in policing alleged scrapers. Meta has taken numerous scrapers to court, and most larger social networks today restrict the use of third-party readers, forcing users to log in and access the site’s content through the official app, where they can be tracked and shown personalized ads.

It’s an unfortunate development for lurkers, given that Nitter and its instances offered a handy way to keep up with certain people’s posts on X without an account. Now those people will either need to give up that access or, as X likely hopes, create an account and log in.

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Osimhen Scores Again But Injury Scare Raises Fresh Concern For Super Eagles

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Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen produced a mixed night for Galatasaray on Friday, scoring against İstanbul Başakşehir before being forced off with an injury that could raise concerns over his availability for Nigeria’s upcoming 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Osimhen opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a stunning effort to put Galatasaray ahead.

Read Also: “My Injury Changed Everything” — Aiyegbeni Reveals How Achilles Blow Ruined Chelsea Move

However, his night was cut short after he appeared to suffer a problem following a challenge with Christopher Operi in the 23rd minute. The Nigerian striker continued briefly but later felt the problem again after making a run behind the defence and signalled that he could not continue.

Osimhen was eventually substituted in the 33rd minute, with Barış Alper Yılmaz coming on as his replacement.

Initial reports describe the problem as a suspected muscle/groin injury, but there is currently no confirmed diagnosis or recovery timeline. Osimhen himself reportedly admitted after the incident that he did not yet know whether the injury was serious.

The timing could be significant for Nigeria.

The Super Eagles are scheduled to begin their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign against Madagascar on September 23, before travelling to face Guinea-Bissau on September 27.

That leaves Nigeria with just under three weeks before the Madagascar encounter, meaning Osimhen could still have time to recover if the injury proves minor. However, a significant muscle strain or tear could put his participation in doubt.

For now, Osimhen has not been ruled out of the Super Eagles’ upcoming matches, and his availability will depend on further medical examinations and his recovery over the coming days.

The immediate concern for Nigeria will therefore be the results of those assessments.

He scored a spectacular goal, but the biggest question tonight is whether Osimhen will be fit when Nigeria need him most.

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AI compute provider Nscale is looking for $3.5B in pre-IPO financing

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Nscale, a British AI infrastructure company founded just two years ago, has said it may go public as early as later this month. Ahead of that expected IPO, the company is reportedly in talks to raise an additional $3.5 billion.

Bloomberg reported Friday that the company is looking to sell $1.5 billion in convertible notes — a type of loan that can later convert into company stock — to a group of investors, while also seeking an additional $2 billion in financing from Nvidia.

Nvidia also participated in the firm’s Series B funding round in March, a $1.1 billion raise led by investment fund Aker. Nscale hailed its round as “the largest Series B in European history.” The company’s Series A round, in December of 2024, raised $155 million.

TechCrunch reached out to Nscale and Nvidia for comment.

AI infrastructure startups have seen immense growth amid the current era of AI enthusiasm, wherein compute has become a competitive currency.

Nscale recently signed a large deal with Anthropic worth approximately $45 billion. Earlier this week, reports emerged that Nscale had been telling potential investors that it has approximately $103 billion in revenue following the deal. That figure isn’t current sales; it’s a projection based on signed customer leases, according to The Information.

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