SpaceX Starlink faces sanctions in Brazil over Elon Musk’s X access

SpaceX’s high-speed internet service, Starlink, is facing sanctions in Brazil after Elon Musk’s X was blocked by the government last week.

The country’s telecommunications regulator, known as Anatel, instructed internet providers to block access to X last week after a court order from the Brazilian supreme court ordered the site to be banned after it did not appoint a legal representative by a court-mandated deadline.

ISPs, or internet service providers, were required to block X. However, there are still a handful of ways to get around that ban, one of them being Musk-owned Starlink.

Now, Anatel commissioner Artur Coimbra told CNN Brasil last week that the regulator is looking into the noncompliance of Starlink and any other ISP that is still allowing access to X. There are a “number of sanctions” that could be imposed, the report said, including fines and a withdrawal of the license that allows them to do business in the country.

Musk also suggested that users in Brazil who still wish to use X utilize a virtual private network, or VPN, to do so.

Targeting Starlink only increases the rivalry that is ongoing between Musk and Brazilian government officials.

Musk has particularly gone after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes:

This evil tyrant is a disgrace to judges robes https://t.co/U4LW2mjsTL

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 3, 2024

Musk’s purchase of then-Twitter was primarily based on the fight for free speech. A representative for X said in April that the company was “forced by court decisions to block certain popular accounts,” CNBC reported.

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