Brazil's Supreme Court Lifts Freeze On Starlink And X's Finances After Elon Musk's Companies Cough Up $3.3 Million In Fines

Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has lifted the freezes on Starlink and X bank accounts after ordering the transfer of 18.35 million reais ($3.3 million) to the national treasury.

What Happened: The court stated that the amount transferred equaled what X owed in fines, imposed due to a conflict between billionaire owner Elon Musk and Moraes, reported Reuters.

The judge had previously blocked access to the X platform in Brazil, its sixth-largest market, after the company failed to comply with orders to block accounts accused of spreading “fake news” and hate messages.

Musk has contested these orders, labeling them as “censorship.” Additionally, X did not appoint a local legal representative as mandated by Brazilian law, leading Moraes to freeze Starlink’s accounts to cover potential fines owed by X.

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Despite lifting the freezes, Moraes has not revoked the decision to block access to X in Brazil, citing unresolved issues around legal representation and content removal.

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Why It Matters: The conflict between Musk and Brazil’s judiciary has been escalating for weeks.

On Aug. 29, the Supreme Court of Brazil imposed a financial freeze on Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, due to X’s lack of legal representatives in Brazil and unpaid fines related to failing to provide certain documents.

On Sept. 3, Starlink initially defied a court order to block access to X in Brazil, citing the freezing of its local accounts as a reason. However, later that day, Starlink complied with the court order, despite calling the asset freeze "illegal."

Adding to the complexity, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr wrote to Brazil’s telecom regulator, Anatel, criticizing the punitive actions against X and Starlink and warning that such measures could make Brazil an "uninvestable market."

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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