Starlink U-turns and agrees to block access to X in Brazil

Inevitably, we know about this latest development via X, where the Starlink account tweeted the following:

To our customers in Brazil (who may not be able to read this as a result of X being blocked by @alexandre):

The Starlink team is doing everything possible to keep you connected. Following last week’s order from @alexandre that froze Starlink’s finances and prevents Starlink from conducting financial transactions in Brazil, we immediately initiated legal proceedings in the Brazilian Supreme Court explaining the gross illegality of this order and asking the Court to unfreeze our assets. Regardless of the illegal treatment of Starlink in freezing of our assets, we are complying with the order to block access to X in Brazil.

We continue to pursue all legal avenues, as are others who agree that @alexandre’s recent orders violate the Brazilian constitution.

The Alexandre referred to is, of course, supreme court judge de Moraes, who seems to have the full backing of the rest of the court and the Brazilian government in seeking to block and social media that doesn’t comply with his censorship demands. He had previously frozen Starlink’s finances as an apparent attempt to ramp up the pressure on Elon Musk, who owns both Starlink and X.

Musk and Starlink struck a characteristically defiant tone yesterday but some combination of pressure from Starlink investors and a possible further escalation from de Moraes, whose power within Brazil seems unlimited, forced a rapid U-turn. But the petulant theme of the Starlink tweet suggests Musk’s appetite for this battle of wills is undiminished.

We concluded yesterday that the belligerent with the highest tolerance for collateral damage is likely to prevail. Musk has, as least partially, been brought to heel for now, but the greater long-term damage may be inflicted on the Brazilian economy, which has to explain to investors why they should risk everything in a country apparently at the mercy of one man’s capricious whims.