Starlink, the satellite-Internet service controlled by Elon Musk, reversed course on Tuesday and said it would comply with Brazilian government orders to block Musk’s social network X in the country.
The move was the first sign of any backing down by Musk in Brazil since he began battling with authorities there last month. X has been blacked out across the nation of 200 million since Saturday because of a dispute between Musk and Brazil’s Supreme Court over what can be said online.
Starlink escalated the fight on Sunday when, according to Brazilian regulators, the company declared it would continue allowing its 250,000 customers in Brazil to log on to X, defying the government.
Carlos Baigorri, president of Brazil’s telecommunication agency, said Sunday that if Starlink refused to comply, his agency could revoke its license to operate in the country and could seize 23 ground stations it uses to improve the quality of its connections.
Baigorri said that Starlink had told him earlier that it would not comply until Brazil’s Supreme Court lifted financial sanctions against it in the country.
Alexandre de Moraes, the Brazilian Supreme Court justice who has led the action against X, froze Starlink’s assets and blocked it from completing financial transactions in Brazil in a bid to collect more than $3 million in fines he has imposed against X.
New York Times News Service