Elon Musk’s Starlink says it will block X in Brazil to keep satellite internet active

Elon Musk’s Starlink says it will block X in Brazil to keep satellite internet active


Jaque Silva | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Starlink, the satellite internet service owned and operated by SpaceX, said it will block the social network X in Brazil to continue operations there without the threat of losing its license. Elon Musk owns both businesses.

Brazil’s supreme court blocked X in the country after it openly defied the court’s orders and failed to pay fines. X refused requests to suspend accounts posting content that aimed to harm democratic institutions in Brazil, which is preparing for municipal elections in October.

The supreme court orders had frozen Starlink’s financial assets in the country to ensure X would pay its penalties. The country’s top justice Alexandre De Moraes viewed Musk’s two companies as working in concert.

One takedown request pertained to the account of Senator do Val who is being investigated for possible involvement in plots to stage a coup and to sabotage de Moraes. The social network also refused to appoint a legal representative in the country, a requirement under federal regulations.

De Moraes detractors say he has gone too far in exerting control over speech online and on social networks.

As CNBC has previously reported, Starlink has advertised on X and Musk has encouraged users to access the social network using his satellite internet service.

SpaceX has said it has about 250,000 Starlink customers in Brazil. Its competitors there include Hughesnet, Viasat and Telebras.

The Starlink account on X published the following statement, referring to its decision and de Moraes:

“To our customers in Brazil (who may not be able to read this as a result of X being blocked by @alexandre):

The Starlink team is doing everything possible to keep you connected. Following last week’s order from @alexandre that froze Starlink’s finances and prevents Starlink from conducting financial transactions in Brazil, we immediately initiated legal proceedings in the Brazilian Supreme Court explaining the gross illegality of this order and asking the Court to unfreeze our assets.

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. We continue to pursue all legal avenues, as are others who agree that @alexandre’s recent orders violate the Brazilian constitution.

Before Starlink agreed to comply with the orders to block X, the telecommunications regulator for Brazil, Anatel, had threatened sanctions against the company.

A public clash between Musk and the current administration in Brazil, a major non-NATO ally of the U.S., has been escalating for months.

Musk recently characterized de Moraes as a “criminal,” comparing him to movie and book villains like Darth Vader and Voldemort, and has repeatedly called for his impeachment, insisting de Moraes’ orders amount to illegal censorship.

Musk has praised Brazil’s far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro and promised retribution against de Moraes and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

For example, Musk wrote over the weekend, “Unless the Brazilian government returns the illegally seized property of and SpaceX, we will seek reciprocal seizure of government assets too. Hope Lula enjoys flying commercial.”

In April, Musk wrote “How did @Alexandre de Moraes become the dictator of Brazil? He has Lula on a leash.”

In an interview with CNN Brazil after the court’s orders were unanimously upheld by a panel of five justices, President Lula said he hopes the controversy surrounding the suspension of X in his country would show the world “it isn’t obliged to put up with Musk’s far-right free-for-all just because he is rich,” according to a translation from Portuguese to English reported by The Guardian.

Under President Lula, Brazil’s environmental authority Ibama seized Starlink terminals used by illegal miners in the Amazon rainforest



Source

Pinterest shares rise 15% on better-than-expected guidance
Technology

Pinterest shares rise 15% on better-than-expected guidance

Bill Ready, CEO of Pinterest, rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on May 15, 2024. Brendan McDermid | Reuters Pinterest shares rose 15% in extended trading Thursday after the company reported first-quarter earnings and provided better-than-expected guidance. Here’s how the company did, compared to analysts’ consensus estimates from LSEG: Revenue: $855 […]

Read More
Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky sentenced to 12 years in multi-billion-dollar crypto fraud case
Technology

Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky sentenced to 12 years in multi-billion-dollar crypto fraud case

Alex Mashinsky, former chief executive officer of Celsius Network Ltd., arrives at court in New York, US, on Thursday, May 8, 2025. Yuki Iwamura | Bloomberg | Getty Images Alexander Mashinsky, the former CEO of Celsius Network, was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to two counts of fraud, a […]

Read More
Affirm drops 10% on weaker-than-expected guidance for current quarter
Technology

Affirm drops 10% on weaker-than-expected guidance for current quarter

PayPal Inc. co-founder and Affirm’s CEO Max Levchin on center stage during day one of Collision 2019 at Enercare Center in Toronto, Canada. Vaughn Ridley | Sportsfile | Getty Images Affirm, the provider of buy now, pay later loans, gave a revenue forecast for the current quarter that trailed analysts’ estimates even as profit for […]

Read More