Brazil's Telecom Regulator Threatens Sanctions on Musk's Starlink Amid X Ban

Brasilia: Brazil's telecom regulator, Anatel, is threatening to impose sanctions on Elon Musk's satellite broadband company, Starlink, days after the country's Supreme Court upheld a controversial ban on the billionaire's social media platform X.

Tensions between Elon Musk and the South American country escalated since Brazil’s apex court, led by Judge Alexandre de Moraes, supported a decision to suspend X nationwide. This is because the apex court found that X allowed the spread of hate speech and false information about Brazil’s electronic voting system, which Moraes argued was a serious threat to the 'democracy.'

Furthermore, according to a Reuters report, Starlink has become the focus of Brazil’s telecom regulator, Anatel, following the court's decision.

The regulator has cautioned that Starlink could face several severe consequences, including the revocation of its licence to operate in Brazil, for refusing to comply with the order to block X.

Musk's Starlink is the only telecom operator in Brazil that has ever defied the court’s directive, stating it would not remove X from its services until all its Brazilian bank accounts, frozen by the court, were restored.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian telecom regulator is now inspecting all telecom operators in the country 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 itself at risk of sanctions.

Musk Reacts to Threats on Starlink

In reaction to the legal actions against Starlink, Musk on X warned to seek a reciprocal seizure of Brazilian assets, though he did not provide specific details.

"Unless the Brazilian government returns the illegally seized property of 𝕏 and SpaceX, we will seek," he said.

In another post the said, “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!”