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UPDATE 9/4: Starlink now says it is complying with Brazil's order for internet providers to block X, formerly known as Twitter.
"Regardless of the illegal treatment of Starlink in freezing of our assets, we are complying with the order to block access to X in Brazil," Starlink said in a post published Tuesday afternoon, reiterating its allegations that the asset seizure violated Brazilian law.
Starlink also said it is continuing to fight in court to get its assets unfrozen.
Original Story 9/3: Days after Brazil's Supreme Federal Court ordered the "immediate and complete" suspension of Elon Musk's social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in the country, the government has since voted to make the ban official while Starlink resists orders to block the platform.
Internet providers and app stores servicing Brazil have until Wednesday to comply with the ban, The Verge reports. But over the weekend, Musk's Starlink internet service reportedly told Anatel, Brazil's telecom agency, that it won't block X on its network. Starlink has about 250,000 users in Brazil, though not all of those customers necessarily use X. Brazilian legal news outlet JOTA reports that most Brazilians are not currently able to access X, but not all Brazilian internet providers have blocked the platform as of Monday.
Brazil took action toward banning X after the social media platform failed to assign a legal representative in the country. X has also ignored Brazilian orders to suspend various accounts, leading the government to fine it over $3 million and freeze some Starlink assets as a result. Musk claimed Monday that Brazilian authorities have also seized SpaceX and X assets. He threatened to "seek reciprocal seizure" if the "illegally seized property" is not returned.
Some X users in Brazil have been able to use VPNs to continue to access the site. But Brazilian supreme court minister Alexandre de Moraes, who has led the wave of regulation toward X, has said that anyone in Brazil using a VPN to circumvent the ban may be assessed a daily fine. While some of the other justices have supported this fine, one took issue with it unless the VPN is used to post hate speech, fascist material, or content on X that would otherwise violate Brazilian laws.
Since conflict arose between Brazilian regulators and X, the social platform has shut its office in the country and laid off its employees there. X has alleged that Brazil's requests to take down certain accounts are actually "illegal orders to censor" the "political opponents" of Moraes.
"When we attempted to defend ourselves in court, Judge de Moraes threatened our Brazilian legal representative with imprisonment. Even after she resigned, he froze all of her bank accounts," X's Global Government Affairs account alleged in a post on Thursday.
The court, however, has argued that X repeatedly failed to follow Brazilian laws. Brazilian news outlet O Globo notes that Justice Flavio Dino has called the accusations of government censorship "absurd," and Moraes has accused Musk of confusing "freedom of expression with a non-existent freedom of aggression."
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect additional comment from Starlink.