Starlink emerges as fresh battleground between Musk, Brazil
BRASILIA/SAO PAULO (Reuters) — Tensions between Brazil and Elon Musk’s business empire ratcheted up further as the country’s telecoms regulator threatened to sanction his satellite broadband company Starlink hours after its top court stood behind a controversial decision to ban social network X from the country.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also backed the top court’s Judge Alexandre de Moraes’ decision to suspend X. The judge found that X allowed postings of hate messages and falsehoods about the country’s electronic voting system that undermined Brazil’s democracy.
“The Brazilian judiciary may have given an important signal that the world is not obliged to put up with Musk’s far-right ideology just because he is rich,” Lula said in an interview with CNN Brasil released on Monday.
Reacting to the judge’s earlier move to freeze Starlink’s accounts for possible use to pay fines owed by X, Musk said in an X posting that he would seek a reciprocal seizure of Brazilian assets, but did not say how.
Starlink on Monday again found itself in Brazilian authorities’ crosshairs by refusing to obey Moraes’ order for all internet providers to block domestic access to X.
A senior official at telecommunications regulator Anatel said sanctions against Starlink for noncompliance could include the revocation of its license to operate in Brazil.
Anatel commissioner Artur Coimbra told Reuters that the regulator is inspecting all Brazilian telecom operators to make sure they have shut down Musk’s messaging platform.
Starlink is the only company that has told Anatel it will not comply with the judge’s ruling, Coimbra said.
Starlink did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
It previously told Anatel it was refusing to remove X from its service until the freeze on its Brazilian bank accounts was lifted, the telecom regulator confirmed to Reuters earlier on Monday.
