Starlink announced it would comply with a Brazilian court order to block access to social media platform X, despite calling the suspension “illegal” and criticizing Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Starlink, the satellite corporation under the control of Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and the owner of X, has announced that it is adhering to a Brazilian court order to prevent the social media platform X from operating in the country.
In a post on X on September 3, Starlink asserted that a court ruling suspending X in Brazil was “illegal,” with an explicit reference to Alexandre de Moraes, one of the Supreme Court justices in the country. On August 30, Moraes suspended X in Brazil after Musk declined to designate a legal representative for the company’s operations in the country. This decision was subsequently upheld by a panel of five Justices.
“Regardless of the illegal treatment of Starlink in freezing of our assets, we are complying with the order to block access to X in Brazil,” said Starlink. “We continue to pursue all legal avenues, as are others who agree that [Moraes’] recent orders violate the Brazilian constitution.”
Starlink stated that it had initiated legal proceedings to contest the court order that also resulted in the freezing of its assets in Brazil.
Moraes’ investigation into the alleged misinformation that was disseminated on X regarding former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was the catalyst for the court order. The justice department has indicated that X may be suspended in Brazil until the social media company pays a sanction exceeding $3 million.
A sizable number of X users on social media criticized the decision as an abuse of power and an attempt to restrict Brazilians’ freedom of expression. Although a significant number of X users in Brazil reported that they were able to access the platform through virtual private networks (VPNs), Moraes’ order also imposed sanctions of up to 50,000 reais (approximately $8,900 at the time of publication) for circumventing the lockout.
