Brazil judge, Musk standoff intensifies as Starlink assets frozen [Video]

A standoff between a Brazilian Supreme Court judge and Elon Musk intensified Thursday as the billionaire’s Starlink company said its assets had been frozen in the country amid a feud over the fate of his social media platform X.

The episode began Wednesday when Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes threatened to suspend X, formerly known as Twitter, unless Musk named a new legal representative for the company in Brazil within 24 hours.

Then on Thursday, Musk’s satellite internet operator, Starlink, said it had received an order from Moraes that “freezes Starlink’s finances and prevents Starlink from conducting financial transactions” in the country.

Starlink, which operates in Brazil, particularly in the Amazon, alleged that the order “is based on an unfounded determination that Starlink should be responsible for the fines levied –unconstitutionally — against X.”

The company said on X it intended “to address the matter legally.”

Moraes, who …