After Brazil’s high-profile ban on the social media platform X, Elon Musk has turned to another one of his enterprises to enable the app in the country. Musk is planning to use Starlink to allow Brazilian users to post, view, and interact on X once again.
The radical decision to beam X from space comes after Brazil’s supreme court voted on Monday, September 2 to uphold the ban on X that was introduced last week.
It is worth mentioning that the ban came into effect after Justice Alexandre de Moraes deemed the company failed to follow a court order to appoint a new legal representative in Brazil.
Musk claims Judge Moraes is a dictator
After Brazilian legislators ruled against X, Elon Musk labeled Judge Moraes a dictator, who should be impeached for violating free speech.
Brazilian law, however, says otherwise. A newly passed law in Brazil requires internet service providers in the country to completely ban X, or they could face both financial and legal consequences.
It is increasingly likely that Starlink will face these sorts of consequences. The internet provider is under SpaceX’s control (which is another one of Musk’s companies) and has yet to comply with the ban on X.
The lack of compliance has resulted in the Internet network bank accounts in Brazil being frozen by the government, effectively not allowing Starlink to process financial transactions.
Due to these sanctions imposed on Starlink by the Brazilian government, the company replied with a statement on X, saying “This order is based on an unfounded determination that Starlink should be responsible for the fines levied – unconstitutionally – against X.”
The statement put out by the company also explained that “It was issued in secret and without affording Starlink any of the due process of law guaranteed by the Constitution of Brazil. We intend to address the matter legally… We are proud of the impact Starlink is making in communities across the country, and the Starlink team is doing everything possible to ensure their service is not interrupted.”
Users in Brazil that access X through Starlink or a VPN could fines fines up to $8,000
Under Brazil’s court ruling, any Brazilian user who accesses X through Starlink or a VPN could face fines of 50,000 reais ($8,000).
Despite these rulings by the court, Elon Musk insists on calling the court ruling “illegal and unconstitutional.” Musk claims the freezing of Starlink bank accounts is illegal, and continues to pledge free internet access to Brazilians while their X accounts remain blocked.
This is the first time Brazil has gone against a social media platform and defended its constitution and sovereignty over the internal policies of X. What has become abundantly clear is that Social Media platforms have become powerful enough to challenge the sovereignty of a Nation, as Elon Musk keeps demonstrating in his crusade for free speech.
Political and Industry analysts can’t help but question the logic behind X’s actions, posing the question, how does Musk plan to make X the global town square of the world if he’s not willing to cooperate with country regulators?
