Starlink is taking a novel approach to Brazil’s ongoing war against Elon Musk, providing its service to Brazilian customers for free.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes appears to be on a crusade against Elon Musk and fans, banning X and fining users up to $9,000 per day if they use a VPN to continue accessing X. Moraes evidently froze Starlink’s Brazilian bank accounts in an effort to force X to comply with the fines levied against it.
Starlink fired back, saying it was unconstitutional for Moraes and Brazil’s Supreme Court to punish one company for the actions of another, based solely on having the same owner.
Beyond pointing out the legal issues with Moraes’ ruling, Starlink says it will continue to do everything possible to keep providing service to customers in Brazil, regardless of the state of its bank accounts.
Needless to say, Brazil’s actions are not going unnoticed. As entrepreneur Oliver Hein posted in response to X, businesses of all sizes will take note of Brazil’s actions and make decisions accordingly.
Musk has already called for the US government to intervene in the case and seize Brazilian assets, citing similar action against Venezuela. If the US does get involved, it could quickly escalate and open geopolitical issues on a new front.