Starlink tells Brazil regulator it will not comply with X suspension

Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk pauses during an in-conversation event with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, Britain, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Reuters)
Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk pauses during an in-conversation event with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, Britain, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Reuters)
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Starlink tells Brazil regulator it will not comply with X suspension

Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk pauses during an in-conversation event with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, Britain, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Reuters)
Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk pauses during an in-conversation event with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London, Britain, Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (Reuters)

Elon Musk-controlled satellite internet provider Starlink has told Brazil's telecom regulator Anatel it will not comply with a court order to block social media platform X in the country until its local accounts are unfrozen.

Anatel confirmed the information to Reuters on Monday after its head Carlos Baigorri told Globo TV it had received a note from Starlink, which has more than 200,000 customers in Brazil, and passed it onto Brazil's top court.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes last week ordered all telecom providers in the country to shut down X, which is also owned by billionaire Musk, for lacking a legal representative in Brazil.

The move also led to the freezing of Starlink's bank accounts in Brazil. Starlink is a unit of Musk-led rocket company SpaceX. The billionaire responded to the account block by calling Moraes a "dictator."

The decision to freeze Starlink's accounts stems from a separate dispute over unpaid fines X was ordered to pay due to its failure to turn over some documents.

The Supreme Court did not respond to a request for comment.

On Monday, a five-member panel of the court is set to decide whether to uphold Moraes' ruling.

Law experts consulted by Reuters have said they believe the panel will likely confirm Moraes' ruling.



OpenAI Names Political Veteran Lehane as Head of Global Policy

A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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OpenAI Names Political Veteran Lehane as Head of Global Policy

A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed OpenAI logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI has named political veteran Chris Lehane as its vice president of global policy, the New York Times reported on Friday.

According to Reuters, Lehane is a member of the executive team at OpenAI.

He was a former policy chief for Airbnb (ABNB.O) and a member of the Clinton White House.