Battle for the Airwaves: Elon Musk’s Starlink Takes on Brazil in a High-Stakes Internet Showdown
Brazil and Elon Musk’s Business Empire at Odds Over Starlink and X Platform
Tensions have risen between Brazil and Elon Musk’s business empire, after the country’s communications regulator threatened to target his company, Starlink, which provides internet services via satellite.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed support for Supreme Court Judge Alexander de Moraes’ decision to suspend the X platform, citing concerns over the spread of hate messages and lies about Brazil’s electronic voting system.
“Brazil’s judiciary could send an important signal that the world is not obliged to tolerate Musk’s far-right ideology just because he is rich,” Lula said in an interview with CNN Brazil.
Starlink Refuses to Comply with Court Order
Starlink is again at loggerheads with Brazilian authorities over the company’s refusal to comply with Judge Moraes’ order for all Internet service providers to block the X platform locally.
A senior official at the National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (Anatel) said penalties targeted at Starlink for non-compliance could include revoking its operating licence.
Anatel Commissioner Arthur Coimbra told Reuters the regulator was checking to make sure all telecom companies in Brazil had blocked the platform.
X Platform Suspension Upheld by Supreme Court
A panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court voted unanimously to suspend the X website for disobeying a court order.
Judges Flavio Dino, Cristiano Zanin, Carmen Lucia and Luiz Fox upheld the decision of Judge Moraes, who ruled last week to suspend X from working in Brazil because he had not appointed a local legal representative as required by law.
The committee’s three judges said the moratorium could be lifted if the platform complied with earlier rulings.
Brazil’s Sixth Largest Market for X
According to data from Statsta, Brazil is the sixth largest market for X in the world with around 21.5 million users in April.
Musk said Moraes tried to censor users and closed X’s Brazilian office in August without hiring a new representative, triggering the suspension order.