Elon Musk on Brazil freezing Starlink bank accounts: ’Illegal action by a dictator'

With his stern gaze and shiny-bald head, Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes has emerged as one of the most powerful and polarizing people in Brazil by probing far-right ex-President Jair Bolsonaro's alleged attacks on democracy.

Millions of Brazilian X users found themselves unable to access the network on Saturday morning as internet providers and mobile phone companies began to enforce the ban.

After banning the social network within its borders, one nugget in the New York Times' report about the story stands out: Anyone who tries to access X in Brazil using technical workarounds like VPNs will be fined substantially.

The judge's ruling could cause X to lose one of its largest and most coveted markets, at a time when Musk has struggled with advertising revenue for the platform.