Space X subsidiary Starlink reversed course and agreed to block access to fellow Elon Musk-owned company X (formerly Twitter), to maintain its satellite internet service in Brazil.
The announcement comes a day after Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered telecoms regulator Anatel to demand service providers block access to the social media platform, which is being punished for not suspending accounts spreading hateful content. X has also not appointed a legal representative in the country which is a federal requirement, reported CNBC.
Starlink said it has around a quarter of a million customers in Brazil, it competes with other satellite firms including Hughesnet, Viasat and Telebras.
Musk said in a tweet on Monday (September 2): “Unless the Brazilian government returns the illegally seized property of X and SpaceX, we will seek reciprocal seizure of government assets too. Hope Lula [President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva] enjoys flying commercial.”
Brazil’s president hit back stating that Latin American country “isn’t obliged to put up with [Elon] Musk’s far-right free-for-all just because he is rich,” reported The Guardian.
