Brazil’s Supreme Court unfreezes Starlink accounts, withholds $3.3 million fine from social network X

Brazil’s Supreme Court yesterday announced that it ordered banks to transfer funds from Starlink and X accounts to pay fines previously imposed on Elon Musk’s social network X. After this, the assets of the satellite telecom operator were unblocked.

Image source: Gerd Altmann / pixabay.com

Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes and a panel of five judges ruled that social network X repeatedly violated Brazilian law by refusing to appoint a legal representative in the country, or to remove content or block profiles on the platform that the court deemed a threat to democratic institutions. Brazil.

As a punishment, a fine was imposed, but since X’s accounts did not have the required amount, funds from another company owned by Elon Musk, the satellite operator SpaceX Starlink, were used. The court withdrew 18.4 million Brazilian reais, or about $3.3 million, from the accounts of X and Starlink, after which it ordered the release of their assets, since it saw no further need for a restrictive measure. The blocking of social network X, introduced at the end of August, remains in force.

Musk and representatives of his companies said they consider Moraes’ actions to be “illegal” and the court’s rulings to have been made without due process. Some of the accounts that a judge ordered Musk to block from social network X, according to Brazilian news agency UOL, belong to individuals who may have threatened federal police officers involved in the investigation of the former leader of the country. He is accused of inciting riots and attempting to stage a coup. The former president of Brazil allowed Starlink to operate in the country.

Musk has been calling for impeachment proceedings against Judge Moraes since April; SpaceX Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell criticized the official. The judge’s supporters regarded his actions as a manifestation of Brazilian sovereignty.