The growing tensions between Brazil and Elon Musk’s empire are escalating further on September 3, 2024, as the country’s telecommunications regulator threatened to sanction Starlink, just hours after imposing a blanket ban on social network X across the country. A few days ago, Judge Alexandre de Moraes made the decision to suspend X in the country, and his decision was widely supported by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The reason for the ban? X is seen as a tool for spreading hateful messages and false information about the country’s electronic voting system, which the judge says undermines Brazilian democracy.
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Starlink faces unprecedented sanctions in Brazil
In response, Elon Musk quickly responded by making Starlink free for all Brazilian users, with the main goal of overriding the ban. The satellite internet service has thus refused to obey the order given by Judge Moraes to all internet service providers to block access to X everywhere in the country. According to Artur Coimbra, commissioner of the telecommunications regulator, Starlink is the only company that has indicated that it will not comply with the judge’s decision. In doing so, a sanction is hanging over Elon Musk: the outright revocation of Starlink’s operating license in Brazil.
Meanwhile, a panel of four judges from Brazil’s Supreme Court voted Monday, September 2, in favor of Judge Moraes’ decision to limit access to X in the country. Of those, three fully support the decision, while a fourth has expressed reservations: according to him, the fine for people who circumvent the X ban with a VPN is not necessary, and should be limited to people who publish messages that are reprehensible by law (such as those advocating Nazism or fascism). One thing is certain: the situation does not seem to be going in favor of X and Starlink at the moment, and many similar social networks are enjoying a significant boost in popularity since this historic decision: Threads and Bluesky in particular have benefited from an unprecedented influx of users in recent days.
