8月30日，巴西最高法院大法官亚历山大·德莫赖斯下令，全面暂停X在巴西的业务，缘由是该公司未按照法律要求任命一位当地法律代表。9月2日，巴西最高法院一个法官小组举行线上投票，参与投票的法官们一致同意维持这一裁决。After the Brazilian Supreme Court banned the social media platform X, the country's regulatory institutions threatened to sanction another company, Starlink, under the control of Elon Musk. Brazilian officials warned that the sanctions Starlink may face include fines and revocation of business licenses in Brazil.
On September 3, Caixin News (Editor: Xia Junxiong) reported that the conflict between the world's richest person, Elon Musk, and the Brazilian government is escalating. After the Brazilian Supreme Court banned the social media platform X, the country's regulatory institutions threatened to sanction another company, Starlink, under the control of Musk.
Starlink is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SpaceX, a leading global player in the satellite internet sector.
On August 30, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered a comprehensive suspension of X's operations in Brazil, citing the company's failure to appoint a local legal representative as required by law. On September 2, a group of judges from the Brazilian Supreme Court held an online vote, unanimously agreeing to uphold this ruling.
Last Friday, de Moraes also ordered the freezing of Starlink's assets in Brazil to pay the fines owed by X. In addition, de Moraes also demanded that all domestic internet providers in Brazil block access to X, but Starlink refused to comply, further exacerbating the conflict.
Artur Coimbra, a commissioner of the Brazilian telecommunications regulatory agency Anatel, stated on Monday that the agency is inspecting all Brazilian telecom operators to ensure that they have blocked access to the X platform, and Starlink is the only company explicitly refusing to comply with the judges' ruling.
Reportedly, Starlink has informed the regulatory authorities that it will not block access to X unless its assets in the country are unfrozen by the Brazilian authorities.
Coimbra warned that if a company fails to comply with a court order, it may face a series of sanctions, including fines and revocation of business licenses in Brazil.
According to Statista's data, as of April of this year, Brazil is the sixth largest market for X globally, with approximately 21.5 million users.
After the Supreme Court of Brazil banned the X platform, the majority of Brazilians are no longer able to access the platform, but some people continue to use X through virtual private networks (VPNs) and other methods.
Demorais also stipulated that individuals or companies using VPNs to access X would be fined 50,000 reais (8,902.66 USD) per day. However, some legal professionals have questioned the basis and implementation of this decision.
