Elon Musk's Starlink says it will block X in Brazil

Starlink, the satellite internet service owned and operated by SpaceX, said it would block social network X in Brazil to continue operating there without risking losing its license. Elon Musk owns both companies.

Brazil's Supreme Court has blocked X in the country after the company blatantly flouted the court's orders and failed to pay fines. X rejected requests to block accounts that posted content the court said was damaging to democratic institutions in Brazil, which is gearing up for local elections in October.

The Supreme Court orders had frozen Starlink's financial assets in the country to ensure that X would pay its penalties. The country's top judge, Alexandre de Moraes, considered that Musk's two companies were working together.

One deletion request concerned the account of Senator Marcos do Val, who is under investigation for possible involvement in coup plots and acts of sabotage against de Moraes. The social network also refused to appoint a legal representative in the country, as required by federal regulations.

Critics of De Moraes claim he has gone too far in controlling expression on the Internet and social networks.

As CNBC previously reported, Starlink advertised on X and Musk encouraged users to access the social network through its satellite internet service.

SpaceX says it has around 250,000 Starlink customers in Brazil. Its competitors there include Hughesnet, Viasat and Telebras.

The Starlink account on X released the following statement regarding his decision and de Moraes:

Before Starlink agreed to comply with the orders to block X, Brazil's telecommunications regulator Anatel had threatened the company with sanctions.

A public clash between Musk and the current government in Brazil, a key U.S. ally outside NATO, has been escalating for months.

Musk recently called de Moraes a “criminal” and compared him to villains from movies and books such as Darth Vader and Voldemort. He has repeatedly called for his impeachment, saying de Moraes' orders amount to illegal censorship.

Musk has praised Brazil's far-right former president, Jair Bolsonaro, and promised retaliation against de Moraes and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

“If the Brazilian government does not return the illegally seized property of X and SpaceX, we will seek the seizure of government assets in return,” Musk wrote over the weekend. “Hopefully Lula will enjoy the commercial flight.”

In April, Musk wrote: “How did @Alexandre de Moraes become the dictator of Brazil? He keeps Lula on a leash.”

In an interview with CNN Brazil after the court's orders were unanimously upheld by a panel of five judges, Lula said he hoped the controversy surrounding X's suspension in his country would show the world “that it doesn't have to put up with Musk's far-right mess just because he's rich,” according to a Portuguese-to-English translation reported by The Guardian.

Under Lula, Brazil's environmental agency Ibama seized Starlink terminals used by illegal miners in the Amazon rainforest.