Sat 05 March 2022:
SpaceX founder Elon Musk says the company’s Starlink satellite internet service was “told by some governments (not Ukraine) to block Russian news sources.”
“We will not do so unless at gunpoint. Sorry to be a free speech absolutist,” Musk said in a post on Twitter.
Starlink has been told by some governments (not Ukraine) to block Russian news sources. We will not do so unless at gunpoint.
Sorry to be a free speech absolutist.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2022
Earlier this week, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation thanked Musk for providing equipment to Starlink.
Mykhailo Fedorov thanked SpaceX founder Elon Musk for the equipment in a Twitter post accompanied by a photo of boxes on the back of a truck. Federov had publicly requested the service.
Musk replied with his own tweet saying: “You are most welcome.”
The tech billionaire has said Starlink was “active” in Ukraine and more equipment to use it was on the way.
On Friday, Musk is warned Starlink users in Ukraine to turn on the system “only when needed,” as they may be targetted in the ongoing war.
Musk posted the warning on Twitter on Friday, writing, “Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targetted is high.”
The SpaceX CEO advised users to place the antenna as far away from people as possible and to cover the device with “light camouflage” to avoid detection.
Important warning: Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targeted is high. Please use with caution.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 3, 2022
A security researcher told CNN that anyone setting up a Starlink dish in Ukraine “needs to consider it as a potential giant target.”
“If an adversary has a specialised plane aloft, it can detect [a satellite] signal and home in on it,” the University of California at Berkeley’s Nicholas Weaver explained to the network.
Starlink is a satellite-based internet system that SpaceX has been building for years to bring internet access to underserved areas of the world. It markets itself as “ideally suited” for areas where internet service is unreliable or unavailable.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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