Elon Musk vs Brazil court: After X ban, Brazil’s telecom regulator threatens sanctions on Starlink

Brazil’s telecom regulator, Anatel, is threatening sanctions against Elon Musk’s satellite broadband company, Starlink, as tensions between the tech billionaire and the South American country intensify. The move comes after Brazil’s Supreme Court upheld a controversial ban on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, which is owned by Musk.

The situation escalated when Brazil’s top court, led by Judge Alexandre de Moraes, supported a decision to suspend X nationwide. The court found that X allowed the spread of hate speech and false information about Brazil’s electronic voting system, which the judge argued posed a serious threat to the country’s democracy. This decision was unanimously upheld by a panel of Supreme Court justices, who emphasised that the platform’s actions violated Brazilian law by failing to appoint a local legal representative.

X was removed from most Brazilian users’ access over the weekend, though some continued to use it through VPNs. The court has threatened daily fines of 50,000 reais (approximately £9,000) for those circumventing the ban, though the enforcement of this penalty remains uncertain.

Anatel’s threat to Starlink

According to Reuters' report, Starlink has become the focus of Brazil’s telecom regulator, Anatel, following the court's decision. The regulator warned that Starlink could face severe consequences, including the revocation of its licence to operate in Brazil, for refusing to comply with the order to block X. Starlink is the only telecom operator in Brazil that has defied the court’s directive, stating it would not remove X from its services until its Brazilian bank accounts, frozen by the court, were restored.

Anatel is now inspecting all telecom operators in Brazil to ensure compliance with the court’s order. The regulator’s commissioner, Artur Coimbra, confirmed that Starlink has officially communicated its refusal to block access to X, putting the company at risk of sanctions.

Brazil’s President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has expressed strong support for the Supreme Court’s decision. He argued that the judiciary’s actions send a global message that wealth does not place individuals like Musk above the law. Lula criticised Musk’s control of social media platforms, accusing him of promoting far-right ideologies under the guise of free speech.

Brazil is a significant market for X, with around 21.5 million users, making it the platform’s sixth-largest globally. The ban has serious implications not only for Musk’s businesses in Brazil but also for the broader debate on the role of social media in shaping public discourse and its impact on democracy.

Musk’s response

In reaction to the legal actions against Starlink, Musk has threatened to seek a reciprocal seizure of Brazilian assets, though he did not provide specific details. He said, “Unless the Brazilian government returns the illegally seized property of 𝕏 and SpaceX, we will seek reciprocal seizure of government assets too. Hope Lula enjoys flying commercial.”

In another recent tweet, Musk defended X saying, “This platform does not seek to impose the laws of the United States on other countries – we obey the laws of that country in that country. The problem in Brazil is that @AlexandreFiles we were being told to break Brazilian laws and that we would be sanctioned if we told anyone about it!”