SpaceX’s Starlink, the satellite internet service headed by Elon Musk, has resisted orders from Brazil’s telecom agency to block access to X.
The move comes as Starlink, which has 250,000 customers in Brazil, continues to resist compliance with Brazilian government actions against Musk’s companies.
On Sunday, Starlink informed Brazil’s telecom agency, Anatel, that it would not comply with orders to block X until the country releases Starlink’s frozen assets, Anatel president Carlos Baigorri said in an interview with Globo News. While SpaceX and Starlink are separate companies unrelated to X, Brazilian authorities froze its bank accounts in retaliation.
The decision follows a series of escalating legal battles between Musk and the Brazilian government, spearheaded by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, reports the New York Times.
Justice Moraes has accused X of spreading disinformation and hate speech and has imposed over $3 million in fines against the social network for ignoring court orders to suspend specific accounts. In response, Justice Moraes froze Starlink’s assets in Brazil and blocked it from conducting financial transactions, aiming to collect the fines.
Baigorri noted that his agency could revoke Starlink’s license to operate in Brazil, which would potentially prevent the company from providing internet services to its Brazilian customers. If Starlink continued its service without a license, regulators could seize the company’s equipment at its 23 ground stations in the country, which are critical to maintaining internet quality.
Starlink has petitioned the Brazilian Supreme Court to unblock its assets, but the request was swiftly dismissed. Meanwhile, Musk and Starlink has pledged to provide free internet service to its customers in Brazil during the period when it is blocked from making financial transactions.
Musk has criticized the financial sanctions against Starlink, calling them “absolutely illegal.” He argued that Justice Moraes is unfairly penalizing SpaceX shareholders for actions taken by X, which operates as a separate company.
“This platform does not seek to impose the laws of the United States on other countries – we obey the laws of that country in that country,” said Musk on Sunday night.
“The problem in Brazil is that @AlexandreFiles we were being told to break Brazilian laws and that we would be sanctioned if we told anyone about it!”, added Musk.
