Starlink U-turns, will block X in Brazil after all
- Reference: 1725452114
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/09/04/starlink_performs_a_180_and/
- Source link:
Starlink had [1]previously informed Brazil's regulator that it would not obey the order, [2]according to local media. However, the resistance was short lived, and Starlink has now confirmed [3]posted that it is getting into line.
For those unable or unwilling to access Musk's social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), Starlink posted, "Following last week's order from @alexandre that froze Starlink's finances and prevents Starlink from conducting financial transactions in Brazil, we immediately initiated legal proceedings in the Brazilian Supreme Court explaining the gross illegality of this order and asking the Court to unfreeze our assets.
[4]
"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. We continue to pursue all legal avenues, as are others who agree that @alexandre's recent orders violate the Brazilian constitution."
[5]
[6]
The @alexandre in question is Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who threatened to block X in Brazil if the company failed to answer to local authorities. A deadline for appointing a compliance officer came and went, and X was blocked in Brazil over the weekend.
[7]Elon Musk’s Starlink won't block Elon Musk’s X in Brazil, as required by court order
[8]Musk's X, Media Matters headed to trial
[9]Brazil recruits OpenAI in brave bid to slash court battle costs
[10]Meta training AI models on citizen data gets a hard não from Brazil
Financial penalties have also been imposed on Starlink in an effort to get X to pay some of the fines it owes.
Unsurprisingly, Musk is not impressed with Moraes and has used his social media platform to [11]express his displeasure with Brazil's judicial system over recent months.
However, for now, the billionaire's outbursts have come to naught. Doubtless mindful of the reported 200,000 Starlink users in Brazil, the company has bowed to the Judge's decision, which five Supreme Court judges upheld on Monday, and blocked X.
[12]
Musk has continued his tirades against Moraes by amplifying accounts calling for the Judge to be removed and [13]writing , "No judge on Earth in the 21st century has broken his own country's laws so often and so egregiously." ®
Get our [14]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/03/brazil_vs_x_update/
[2] https://g1.globo.com/politica/politico/noticia/2024/09/01/starlink-informa-ao-presidente-da-anatel-que-nao-vai-cumprir-decisao-de-moraes-sobre-suspensao-do-x.ghtml
[3] https://x.com/Starlink/status/1831053118265843722
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZtiEIiNOTMolAxtMZciFSgAAAUc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZtiEIiNOTMolAxtMZciFSgAAAUc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZtiEIiNOTMolAxtMZciFSgAAAUc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/03/brazil_vs_x_update/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/08/30/media_matters_elon_musk_x_lawsuit/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/11/brazil_openai_justice/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/07/03/brazil_meta_ai_training/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/08/musk_burns_bridges_in_brazil/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZtiEIiNOTMolAxtMZciFSgAAAUc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1831259570393727319
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Wonder how
the muskfets will rationalise this? Should be interesting to read comments on one of his (sadly) many fets sites
Everybody has rules that they think are dumb and should be ignored. When you see stories like this about international businesses and countries around the world, though, it’s not like they can just #RESIST! or whatever. Yeah, Apple’s going to follow China’s onshore data rules. TikTok’s going to follow the EU data rules.
Because the choice is to comply or stop doing business in that country. There really isn’t anything else!
It's almost as if one of the adults in the room at SpaceX, actually managed to get through to Musk that his Tantrums have proper consequences for his businesses.
I bet they're polishing their CV as we speak... I doubt the thin skinned one will take lightly to having a bit of reality inserted into his bubble...
More likely it's because he doesn't wholly own SpaceX, and therefore presumably Starlink. So the other shareholders get to tell him to wind his neck in. Some of them will have board representation. They're probably already annoyed that he's got some of their company's assets seized due to a dispute with Twitter (which only he owns). Probably they're incandescent that he's about to break the law, with partly their company, in support of his own personal one.
More likely it's because he doesn't wholly own SpaceX, and therefore presumably Starlink
The latest information I can find says
Elon Musk is the dominant shareholder in SpaceX, owning about 54% of the equity and controlling 78% of the voting rights. This majority stake allows him to make major decisions independently.
Sure, but the minority shareholders do have rights. And 200,000 Starlink subscription payments per month (@ R$368/$72 = $14.4m/month) not coming in would certainly be grounds for action.
Re: Other Twitter investors
There are a bunch of banks that loaned Twitter money thinking they could always mitigate their risk by selling the debt to others ( [1]oops ). There are also [2]investors , some with fairly mild agendas like free speech for crypto spam bots. Musk owns the majority of Twitter but there advantages to fooling the rich and powerful into having a financial interest in keeping your expensive and controversial vanity project afloat.
[1] https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/musks-banks-book-twitter-loan-losses-avoid-big-hits-sources-2022-12-14/
[2] https://slate.com/technology/2022/05/elon-musks-twitter-investors-a-guide-to-whos-who.html
23 ground stations and a bunch of bank accounts
Perhaps someone had to sit Musk down and explain to him that [1]this was a persuasive argument .
[1] https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/elon-musks-starlink-will-comply-with-the-brazil-x-ban-after-all-181144471.html
Re: 23 ground stations and a bunch of bank accounts
The simple answer is Musk values the money above his stand on "free speech"*
[*] free only if he agrees with it, of course.
I'm no fan of the Space Karen but...
who is the judge trying to penalise here? Blocking twitter, I get. It penalises twitter.
But fining Brazilians who use a VPN to access it? That's rather unfair! source: https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/elon-musks-starlink-will-comply-with-the-brazil-x-ban-after-all-181144471.html
Re: I'm no fan of the Space Karen but...
It is probably impractical to actually do that for Joe Public who don't post much, but it makes a point that deliberately ignoring the law has consequences and (probably more importantly) sends a message to any advertisers or companies with presence on X that they need to stop using it in Brazil and VPN-ing to continue is not going to be acceptable.
Sad, following illegal orders from a corrupt judge.
Orders that have been approved by five judges from the Supreme Court.
If you accept the US Supreme Court, then you can shut up about Brazil.
Go back to Twitter.
A judge whose rulings were upheld by 5 supreme court judges.
Not quite - as Moraes was also one of the 5.
Not sure how that works, as you would expect him not to be involved in reviewing his own decision. So while the panel ruling may well be entirely reasonable, his participation does taint it somewhat (ie it would undoubtedly have been preferable if he had not been on the panel).
1) All other judges upheld his decision, so even if he abstained it would be the same.
2) Musk/X-Twitter had plenty of options to comply with the original ruling, or even perhaps submit a proper legal argument against it, before it got here.
Welcome to the real world.
Had financial arm-twisting not worked, nations can and have seized all the assets of foreign businesses that ignore government demands.
Being nations, they also have military and covert operations options. Elon might want to be careful about who he pisses off. There are a number of nations out there that only allow free speech up to a point; after that the death squads get involved.
Maybe the musk moron should sit down and shut up. What a tosser.