Starlink Refuses to Comply with Brazilian Supreme Court’s Order

• After a five-judge panel voted to uphold the ban passed by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, all internet providers have been asked to block access to X.
• Everyone agreed, except Musk-run Starlink which made it very clear that it has no intention of following court orders.
• For context, this ban was imposed because Musk failed to appoint a legal representative for X in Brazil within the given deadline.

On Monday, a five-judge panel at the Brazilian court voted to uphold the ban that was passed by Justice Alexandre de Moraes earlier this week.

Following this, all internet providers have been asked to cut off access to X and everyone agreed except Starlink (the satellite broadband service by Musk) which made it very clear to the regulators that it will not comply with court orders.

Brazil's telecommunication regulator, Anatel, threatened to issue sanctions against Starlink for any such non-compliance.

Moraes has already ordered to freeze Starlink's assets and bank accounts to recover unpaid fines from X. For now, Starlink can't make any financial transactions, disrupting its operations in Brazil.

The only thing that the regulators can do to make things harder for Musk is to impose more fines or take away Starlink's license - both these possibilities are being considered by Anatel.

Brief Summary of the Dispute

It started with a disagreement between Musk and Moraes. Moraes ordered X to ban about 100 X accounts for spreading misinformation and hate speech. But Musk, who's a staunch believer in free speech, refused to comply. He also called Moraes a dictator and accused him of breaking Brazilian laws for even suggesting the block.

X has also accused Moraes of threatening its previous legal representative with imprisonment if they did not comply with court orders. In fact, this is one of the reasons why the company removed its staff from Brazil, shut down its facilities, and asked them to work from home. This move worsened the situation.

The latest blow came last week when Moraes gave Musk a final warning - either to appoint a legal representative for X in Brazil or to get banned within 24 hours. As usual, Musk did not comply with the orders, resulting in the ban being implemented.

But until the ban is lifted, all businesses and individuals in Brazil are prohibited from using X, even through a VPN. And if anyone is found using it, the court will issue fines of up to $9,000.

What Will X Do Now?

Despite repeated setbacks, it looks like X hasn't lost its spirit. The president of Brazil's National Telecommunications Agency, Carlos Baigorri, said that X has decided to continue flouting court orders.

Musk also took to X account and shared a post targeting the Brazilian government.

Unless the Brazilian government returns the illegally seized property of X and SpaceX, we will seek reciprocal seizure of government assets too' - Elon Musk

Musk is not one to give up but the Brazilian government is equally firm. They have nothing personal against Musk, it's just the way things work over there. Bans have often been used to make social media companies comply with their demands.

For instance, both WhatsApp and Telegram had been temporarily blocked for not following court orders. And as soon as they complied, the ban was lifted.

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