Brazil’s X Ban Upended Digital Businesses Overnight

Just hours before X went dark in Brazil, Adrienni Rodrigues, a music producer, rushed onto the social network to share the biggest news of her career: the launch of her first album.

She had spent nearly three years making the record with a team of other artists. Now, Ms. Rodrigues feared she would be cut off from her 4,000 followers before she could urge them to tune in.

“I had just enough time to post about it,” said Ms. Rodrigues, 30, a beat maker and D.J. known by her stage name, Gau Beats. “An hour or two later, X was already down and I couldn’t see anything anymore.”

Ms. Rodrigues had come to rely on X as she built her career. It was where she connected with artists, found gigs and promoted her work. So she was crestfallen when, with just hours of warning, Brazil’s Supreme Court blocked the platform last weekend after its owner, Elon Musk, refused to comply with court orders to suspend certain accounts.

“It was a critical moment for us,” said Ms. Rodrigues. “And we lost this place where we already had a relationship with an audience that likes our music.”

Overnight, many Brazilians who had similarly built their businesses on X were thrown into a frenzied search for new platforms where many would have to start from scratch to reach clients, market their work, and connect with sponsors.