Starlink Complies with Brazilian Court’s Order to Block Access to X

Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider, Starlink, reversed its stance and stated it would comply with an order from Brazil’s top court to block access to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

This development follows a previous informal communication to the country’s telecommunications watchdog, in which Starlink indicated it would not adhere to the requirement. Additionally, the company had its bank accounts frozen by judicial order.

Compliance Amidst Legal Challenges:

“Regardless of the illegal treatment of Starlink in freezing our assets, we are complying with the order to block access to X in Brazil,” the company declared on X.

Brazil Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes had mandated the ban on X as part of a broader initiative to combat disinformation. The situation escalated to involve Starlink after X failed to pay fines associated with prior legal rulings. The judge ordered the internet provider’s accounts to be blocked to enforce compliance.

Scope of Asset Freezes:

The assets frozen by the court include bank accounts and financial holdings of Starlink Brazil Holding Ltda and Starlink Brazil Serviços de Internet Ltda, in addition to cars, real estate, boats, and aircraft.

Furthermore, the judge instructed the central bank to prevent the company from conducting international financial transactions.

Cybersecurity Concerns:

In a related note, Anatel reported an increase in hacking attacks, which “caused momentary system and network instability,” according to their statement. Concurrently, Brazil’s Supreme Court and the Federal Police have noted a rise in cyberattacks.

Currently, Starlink holds approximately 225,000 broadband internet contracts in Brazil, making it the 16th-ranked provider with merely a 0.5% market share, as reported by Anatel.