Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has lifted the freezes previously imposed on the bank accounts of Starlink and X after ordering the transfer of 18.35 million reais ($3.3 million) from the accounts to the national treasury.
The decision came after the full amount of fines owed by X was transferred, according to a court statement released on Friday.
The fines stemmed from a legal battle between billionaire Elon Musk, owner of X and a major stakeholder in Starlink, and Justice Moraes.
The dispute arose after X failed to comply with court orders to block certain accounts accused of spreading false information and hate speech, which were deemed a threat to democracy. As a result, Moraes ordered the suspension of access to X in Brazil, the platform’s sixth-largest market.
Musk has publicly criticized these measures, labeling them as “censorship.”
Additionally, X had failed to appoint a local legal representative, as required by Brazilian law, and missed deadlines to comply with court orders.
This non-compliance led to the freezing of Starlink’s accounts to potentially cover the fines imposed on X.
Although the financial sanctions have now been resolved, Moraes has not lifted the order to block access to X in Brazil. The court noted that the platform has not yet addressed the legal representation issue or fully complied with the judge’s content removal orders.
Elon Musk, in addition to owning X and a significant share of Starlink’s parent company SpaceX, is the CEO of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla.
