Brazil lifts blockade of Starlink and social network X accounts

Starlink is a subsidiary of the space company SpaceX owned by American billionaire Elon Musk - Photo: Linkedin

Brazil's Supreme Court on September 13 imposed a fine of 18.35 million reals (about 3.3 million USD) from the X media platform and SpaceX's satellite service provider Starlink.

The Brazilian Supreme Court said in a statement that Citibank and Itaú had announced the transfer of the fines at the request of Brazilian federal judge Alexandre De Moraes to the federal government's account at the Central Bank.

On the same day, Judge De Moraes announced the lifting of the freeze on the accounts and shares of the X and Starlink platforms, both owned by billionaire Elon Musk, in Brazil because they had paid the fine, and the accounts of these companies in Brazil could operate normally again.

At the end of August, Judge De Moraes ruled to fine the X platform and Starlink the above amount for failing to block and control accounts that spread criminal, false and subversive content, as well as failing to comply with Brazilian court rulings, withdrawing legal representatives from the country.

Judge De Moraes also previously ordered the blocking of social network X and the freezing of Starlink accounts in Brazil.

Brazil is an important market for social network X, but has struggled with a loss of advertising customers since billionaire Musk bought Twitter in 2022. According to statistics from market research firm Emarketer, 40 million Brazilians, accounting for nearly 20% of the population, visit X at least once a month.

Before X, Brazilian judges shut down WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app there, for refusing to comply with police requests for user data.

In 2022, Judge De Moraes also warned that Telegram should be shut down, citing repeated requests from the Brazilian government to block profiles and provide user information. He asked Telegram to appoint a local representative, which the platform later complied with to continue operating.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/brazil-do-bo-phong-toa-tai-khoan-cua-starlink-va-mang-xa-hoi-x-20240914143530474.htm