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Brazil's telecoms regulator has threatened to impose sanctions on Elon Musk's satellite network company Starlink over the country's decision to block his social media company X, escalating a public confrontation with the billionaire.
Last week, Brazil's Supreme Court ordered the nationwide suspension of X for failing to appoint legal representation within the time limit set by the court in accordance with the country's law. On Monday, a panel of federal Supreme Court justices upheld the ruling.
Brazil's telecoms regulator Anatel has instructed network providers to block access to X following a court order. Anatel Commissioner Artur Coimbra said Reuters Starlink is the only company to tell regulators it will not comply with the court ruling.
in a separate interview CNN Brazil On Monday, Coimbra said Anatel was investigating potential breaches by Starlink and other network operators. The commissioner said that if a company does not comply with a court order to block X, it could be subject to a number of sanctions, including fines and the revocation of its license to do business in Brazil.
CNBC has contacted Anatel for comment.
Musk's fight with Brazil dates back to April, when an explain The company was forced by “a court decision to block certain popular accounts.” Shortly after, Musk said the restrictions were lifted, urge Users download virtual private networks (VPNs) to access X in case the social network is banned.
The conflict intensifies just as Brazil prepares for municipal elections in October. Under the country's laws, social networks must employ people who can receive and consider government takedown notices about politically misinformation.
X has no such employees in Brazil, and the company said last month it would pull all employees out of the country as tensions persisted, sparking the latest legal battle.
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Starlink targeting intensifies disputes between Musk and Brazil, in particular fueling conflict between the billionaire and Brazil Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court judge responsible for banning X.
Starlink said last week on X It received an order from Moraes to “freeze Starlink's finances and prevent the company from conducting financial transactions in the country.”
Last week, defendant Moraes threatened to jail the social network's legal representatives. The company's global government affairs team posted on X that a judge froze all of the representative's bank accounts once he resigned.
Musk has repeatedly attacked Moraes, calling him an “evil tyrant” and calling for his imprisonment. He also described the Brazilian court's ruling as censorship.
Brazil's Supreme Court had no immediate comment when contacted by CNBC.
– CNBC's Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.