Elon Musk's Starlink, X assets are unfrozen by the Brazilian Supreme Court following fines.
The Brazilian Supreme Court declared on Friday that banks must move money out of Starlink and X accounts to cover fines the court assessed against Elon Musk's social media platform.
Alexandre de Moraes, the chief justice of the court, along with five additional justices concluded that X continually flouted Brazilian law by refusing to designate a legal representative there and by refusing to take down any content or user profiles from its website that the court deemed to be detrimental to Brazil's democratic processes.
The court ordered the removal of roughly 18.4 million Brazilian reals, or roughly $3.3 million, from the accounts. In 2022, Musk purchased X, which was then referred to as Twitter. SpaceX operates a satellite internet service called Starlink. After the transfers, the court declared that X and Starlink's blocked assets and bank accounts could no longer be maintained and ordered their release.
X was placed on suspension by the court at the end of August, and it is still in effect. According to Musk and his companies, de Moraes' activities are "illegal," and the court orders he received were given without following the proper procedures. On Friday, demands for response from X and SpaceX were not immediately answered.
According to reports earlier this month from the Brazilian news website UOL, individuals who allegedly made threats federal police agents investigating former right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro are the owners of some of the X identities that de Moraes asked Musk to stop.
Bolsonaro is charged with trying to stage a coup in Brazil and inciting the protests that started on January 8. In part, Musk supports Bolsonaro because the former president of Brazil gave his company, Starlink, permission to operate in the nation.
Since April, Musk has increased his criticism of de Moraes and his calls for his impeachment. On September 5, his longtime SpaceX co-leader Gwynne Shotwell also made online jabs at the Brazilian supreme court. "@Alexandre, please stop harassing Starlink and let us continue serving the people of Brazil," the writer wrote.
The rulings against X Corp. have been seen by supporters of de Moraes and the STF as a declaration of Brazilian sovereignty.
.gif)