Starlink Bows to Brazilian Court in High-Stakes Social Media Standoff

Elon Musk's Starlink is complying with a Brazilian Supreme Court order to block social media platform X, despite initially defying it. The order came from Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who froze Starlink's accounts to ensure payment of X's fines. Starlink is pursuing legal avenues to challenge the order.

Elon Musk's satellite broadband venture, Starlink, announced on Tuesday that it is now adhering to Brazil's Supreme Court ruling to block access to the social media platform X in the country. This comes a day after Starlink had informed Brazil's telecom regulator, Anatel, of its refusal to comply with the order.

The ongoing legal tussle has pitted Starlink against Brazil. Judge Alexandre de Moraes had earlier ordered the freeze of Starlink's accounts to ensure the payment of fines owed by X, another Musk-owned entity. Despite calling the treatment illegal, Starlink declared in a post on X that it is complying with the order, affecting its over 200,000 customers in Brazil.

Anatel confirmed on Tuesday that Starlink had begun blocking X within the country. This enforcement follows a ruling last week whereby Moraes mandated that all telecom providers in Brazil restrict access to X due to its lack of a legal representative in the country. Starlink, meanwhile, asserted it is exploring legal channels to contest the order, which it deems unconstitutional.

(With inputs from agencies.)