FCC Commissioner sends scathing letter to Brazil following X and Starlink sanctions

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has sent a scathing letter to Brazil’s National Telecommunications agency, known as ANATEL, following the country placed sanctions on social media platform X and SpaceX’s high-speed internet service, Starlink.

The move by ANATEL comes after X refused to name a legal representative by a court-mandated deadline.

Additionally, CEO Elon Musk and Starlink both suggested Brazilians utilize Starlink or VPNs to access X after ANATEL required internet service providers (ISPs) to block X in the country.

Brazilians were threatened with an $8,900 fine for daily use of X.

Brazil’s ban on Musk’s X catches flak from Dutch MP, ADF International

Carr said in the letter that Supreme Court Justice for Brazil, Alex de Moraes, has “failed to respect universal and basic tenets of transparency, fair notice, and due process” after enforcing a decision to freeze the assets of Starlink, “even though Starlink is a separate company with different shareholders that has broken no laws.”

The move by de Moraes comes as Musk has been extremely vocal about the Justice’s moves, which have essentially censored free speech.

“But according to Brazilian officials and legal authorities, Brazil is now violating its own laws through arbitrary and capricious actions against X and Starlink.  Indeed, Justice de Moraes decision runs headlong into Brazil’s own Constitution, which expressly prohibits ‘[a]ny and all censorship of a political, ideological and artistic nature,’ as well as other provisions of Brazilian law that further guarantee freedom of expression,” Carr added.

Starlink was forced to back away from Brazil’s demands to ban X as it would have lost any ability to operate in the country. The move came just days after Starlink had said it would not comply with the demands.

Brazil’s decisions to ban X and freeze Starlink assets are part of a growing crackdown on free speech. But they also violates Brazil’s own laws.

Today, I wrote my regulatory counterparts in Brazil to address these unlawful actions.

*****
Dear ANATEL President Baigorri,

The… pic.twitter.com/eWiaAVmyct

— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) September 5, 2024

Carr’s letter aims to resolve relations between the FCC and ANATEL and smooth things over, as Starlink seems to be in a tough position.

Carr said he would like to meet with ANATEL representatives, either virtually or in the United States or Brazil, to address and resolve the issues.

I’d love to hear from you! If you have any comments, concerns, or questions, please email me at joey@teslarati.com. You can also reach me on Twitter @KlenderJoey, or if you have news tips, you can email us at tips@teslarati.com.

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