SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stated Saturday that his firm will not block entry to Russian media sources on its Starlink web system regardless of requests from some governments.
“Starlink has been advised by some governments (not Ukraine) to dam Russian information sources,” Musk wrote on Twitter Saturday (March 5). “We is not going to achieve this until at gunpoint.”
The request to Starlink comes as Russian navy forces proceed to invade Ukraine and many countries, together with the USA, levy harsh financial sanctions on Russia in protest. Some tech firms like Google and Microsoft have labored to dam Russian media shops just like the state-run RT community and Sputnik, in accordance with Newsweek, however Musk’s assertion implied Starlink wouldn’t block particular person Russian-based information businesses.
“Sorry to be a free speech absolutist,” he wrote in his assertion.
Associated: How will Ukraine maintain SpaceX’s Starlink web on-line?
Photographs: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as seen in satellite tv for pc photographs
Starlink has been advised by some governments (not Ukraine) to dam Russian information sources. We is not going to achieve this until at gunpoint.Sorry to be a free speech absolutist.March 5, 2022
Except for excluding Ukraine, Musk didn’t state which international locations had approached SpaceX’s Starlink service to ask for Russian media sources to be blocked.
SpaceX’s Starlink web is lively in Ukraine and the corporate despatched antennas and terminals to the nation this week to assist restore web and communications after widespread outages attributable to Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24. These terminals arrived on Monday (Feb. 28).
SpaceX’s Starlink system is a satellite tv for pc megaconstellation designed to offer high-speed, low-latency broadband web entry to areas all around the world, with a concentrate on distant or underserved areas. The corporate has launched over 2,000 satellites since 2019 to construct up the Starlink community.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine final week, Musk has issued statements of assist for the Ukrainian folks.
“Maintain Sturdy Ukraine,” Musk wrote on Friday (March 3).
?????? Maintain Sturdy Ukraine ??????March 5, 2022
Additionally on Friday, Musk stated SpaceX was shifting its focus to cyber safety after some Starlink terminals close to battle areas in Ukraine had their indicators jammed for hours at a time.
He has additionally warned Starlink customers in Ukraine to take security measures to make sure their use of the satellite tv for pc web system doesn’t make them a goal to Russian forces.
“Necessary warning: Starlink is the one non-Russian communications system nonetheless working in some elements of Ukraine, so chance of being focused is excessive. Please use with warning,” Musk wrote on Twitter Thursday (March 3). “Please use with warning.”
Correction: An earlier model on this story included a typo that modified the which means of Elon Musk’s assertion on free speech. He wrote that he’s a free speech absolutist. This story has been up to date to appropriate the error.
E mail Tariq Malik at tmalik@area.com or comply with him @tariqjmalik. Observe us @Spacedotcom, Fb and Instagram.