Starlink, Elon Musk’s SpaceX satellite internet service, said Tuesday that it will block Musk’s social media platform X in Brazil, complying with a recent ruling by the country’s Supreme Court that blocked the platform from operating in the South American country.
“The Starlink team is committed to keeping you connected,” the company wrote on X on Tuesday.
Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes has ordered a freeze on Starlink’s financial transactions, prompting the company to launch a lawsuit to challenge what he calls an “unlawful” decision.
“Regardless of Starlink’s illegal handling of the freezing of our assets, we are complying with the order to block access to X in Brazil,” the company wrote. “We continue to pursue all legal avenues, as do others who agree that @alexandre’s recent orders violate the Brazilian Constitution.”
Court documents show that Starlink missed the deadline to file a new appeal against the order to freeze the accounts, Reuters reported.
Before Starlink agreed to the order, Brazil’s telecommunications regulator Anatel threatened sanctions against the company, CNBC reported.
The order to freeze Starlink’s assets was part of De Moraes’ larger order to block access to X over an ongoing feud with Musk, who bought the platform in 2022.
Musk and Moraes’ months-long feud escalated earlier this month when X closed its office in Brazil after a judge ordered the platform to remove posts from the site. If X didn’t comply, the judge said he would impose a $3,650 daily fine and an arrest warrant for his representative, Rachel Nova Conceicao.
Tensions reached a fever pitch last week when De Moraes threatened to shut down the billionaire’s social media platform in the country. Musk hit back, calling De Moraes an “evil dictator posing as a judge.”
The following day, De Moraes ordered the immediate suspension of X nationwide after the platform refused to appoint a new legal representative. He ordered internet providers and app stores to block X in Brazil within five days and imposed daily fines of 50,000 reais — or nearly $9,000 — for those using virtual private networks (VPNs) or other methods to access the platform.
The measure will remain in effect until the company complies with all court orders and pays all fines, the court ruled last week.
Musk quickly tried to characterize it as an attack on free speech, claiming the judge was issuing an order with a “political purpose.”
According to the Associated Press (AP) news agency, some legal experts questioned the basis and enforcement of the decision, while others argued that it was an authoritarian measure.
Brazil’s Bar Association said last Friday it would ask the Supreme Court to review the fines imposed on all citizens who use VPNs or other means to access X without due process, AP reported. The Bar Association argued that the sanctions should not be imposed until an adversarial process is guaranteed, AP added.
Musk previously disputed an April order from Moraes that ordered the platform to block certain accounts in the country, and vowed to roll back the restrictions. Ultimately, however, X said it would abide by the rulings.
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