China and Russia among countries where the X social network is banned

Here is a list of some of the others.

China

Beijing banned Twitter in June 2009 -- before it secured the prominent place it enjoyed in Western media and politics for much of the 2010s.

The block came two days before the 20-year anniversary of the government's crushing of pro-democracy demonstrations in the capital's Tiananmen Square.

Since then, many Chinese people have turned to home-grown alternatives such as Weibo and WeChat.

Iran

Twitter was also blocked by Tehran in 2009, as a wave of demonstrations broke out following a contested June presidential election.

The network has nevertheless been used since then to pass information to the outside world about dissident movements, including the demonstrations against Iran's repression of women's rights since late 2022.

Turkmenistan

Isolated Central Asian country Turkmenistan blocked Twitter in the early 2010s alongside many other foreign online services and websites.

Authorities in Ashgabat surveil closely citizens' usage of the internet, provided through state-run monopoly operator TurkmenTelecom.

North Korea

Pyongyang opened its own Twitter account in 2010 in a bid to woo foreigners interested in the country.

But the application has been blocked along with Facebook, Youtube and gambling and pornography websites since April 2016.

Internet access beyond a few government websites is under tight government watch in the hermit regime, with access restricted to a few high-ranking officials.

Myanmar

X has been blocked since February 2021, when authorities aimed the app for its use by opponents of the military coup that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government.

Since then, the junta has kept a tight grip on internet access in Myanmar.

Russia

Access to Twitter was throttled in 2021 by Moscow, which complained the site was allowing users to spread "illegal content".

A formal ban came in March 2022, just after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Many Russian users continue to connect to X via VPN services that allow them to get around the block.

Pakistan