The Brazilian Supreme Court Orders Freeze on Starlink's Bank Accounts Amid Elon Musk's Legal Battle

Nitin Konde

Aug 30, 2024 — 2 min read

Brazil's Supreme Court freezes Starlink Bank Accounts Amid Feud

An order effectively freezing Starlink's finances in Brazil was issued by the country's top court, marking a significant move against Elon Musk's internet satellite startup.

This ruling, which was published on 29 August 2024, prohibits Starlink from engaging in any financial activities in Brazil. It is a major escalation of the continuing dispute between Musk's businesses and the Brazilian court.

This whole thing started because Justice Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil's Supreme Court and Musk's social media site X (which was formerly Twitter) got into a disagreement.

Justice Moraes summoned X on 28 August 2024 and gave the platform till 29 August's night to choose a Brazilian lawyer. In the event that X's operations within the country are not suspended, compliance with this order is mandatory.

Starlink voiced its displeasure with the judicial procedure in a statement posted on X, asserting that the order had been secretly granted in violation of Brazil's constitutional guarantee of due process.

The business countered that the order was flawed because it wrongly assumed Starlink should pay X's penalty, which it claims was illegally imposed. As far as anyone can tell, Starlink plans to dispute the decision in court.

The Brazilian judiciary and Musk's businesses have been at odds for a while. The Brazilian government has stepped up its attack on fake news and hate speech accounts on social media.

In the lead of these initiatives, Justice Moraes has taken a firm stance against platforms that disregard court orders meant to limit dangerous content on the internet.

Following Musk's public vow to disobey a Brazilian court ruling that had barred specific accounts on the platform, Moraes declared in April that Musk was being investigated for obstruction of justice. The Brazilian judiciary appears to be expanding its jurisdiction to encompass Musk's other businesses, as this fight has recently intensified to encompass Starlink.

Reaction from Musk

Millions of Brazilians depend on Starlink's services, and the move to freeze the company's funds in Brazil could affect them all. Forty million Brazilians, or almost 20% of the population, use X at least once a month, according to market research firm Emarketer. The move against Starlink has the ability to impede services for these customers and adds fuel to the fire between Musk's businesses and the Brazilian government.

Elon Musk vented his anger on X, highlighting the fact that X and SpaceX are separate companies with separate stockholders. He said that the verdict was unlawful and unfairly punished other stockholders as well as the Brazilian people, and he called Moraes the "dictator" of the ruling. Global internet businesses operating in locations with varied regulatory regimes face complicated legal and ethical challenges, as Musk's comment highlights the friction between his enterprises and the Brazilian judiciary.