\n<\/p>\n
Starlink, the satellite internet company controlled by Elon Musk, has been caught in the crosshairs of an ongoing feud between the billionaire<\/a>, who also owns X, and Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In addition to imposing a ban on X<\/a>\u00a0over the spread of misinformation, the Brazilian justice also handed down an order<\/a> that prevents Starlink from performing financial transactions. The move was supposed to coerce X into paying $3 million in fines for failing to block accounts flagged by the Brazilian government, as reported by The New York Times<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Starlink\u2019s block on X puts the company in a strange position, especially when Musk considers himself<\/a> a \u201cfree speech absolutist.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe immediately initiated legal proceedings in the Brazilian Supreme Court explaining the gross illegality of this order and asking the Court to unfreeze our assets,\u201d Starlink says in a post on X. \u201cRegardless of the illegal treatment of Starlink in freezing of our assets, we are complying with the order to block access to X in Brazil.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On Monday, a Brazilian Supreme Court panel upheld the decision to limit access to X<\/a>. Internet service providers and mobile app stores have until September 4th to block X, and those who continue accessing the platform through a virtual private network (VPN) could face steep daily fines.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n