Elon Musk Defends Restricting Ukraine Military Internet Service: ‘We Will Not Enable Escalation of Conflict That May Lead to WW3’
AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File
Elon Musk revealed he’s concerned the Starlink satellite internet service being provided to the Ukrainian military could be used to start World War III.
Musk answered a call from former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly to “restore the full functionality” of the Starlink service on Sunday. Ukraine continues to fight off a Russian invasion that began in February of last year.
Musk warned Kelly he was falling for “propaganda bs” with his concerns about Starlink.
“You’re smart enough not to swallow media & other propaganda bs,” he tweeted. “Starlink is the communication backbone of Ukraine, especially at the front lines, where almost all other Internet connectivity has been destroyed. But we will not enable escalation of conflict that may lead to WW3.”
In another tweet, Musk reiterated that the satellite service is still up and running, but admitted it’s becoming a more complicated moral question over time.
“SpaceX commercial terminals, like other commercial products, are meant for private use, not military, but we have not exercised our right to turn them off,” Musk wrote. “We’re trying hard to do the right thing, where the “right thing” is an extremely difficult moral question.”
The Starlink terms of service actually specifically state that the service is not intended for military use. Musk’s concern over this has earned pushback from Ukrainian officials though.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted last week that Starlink is among the companies that needs to decide which side of the way they are on.
“Either they are on the side of [Ukraine] & the right to freedom, and don’t seek ways to do harm. Or they are on RF’s side & its ‘right’ to kill & seize territories,” he tweeted.
SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said last week that steps were taken to limit the internet service being provided in Ukraine, though it was not revealed what specific steps were taken. Shotwell said the limitations were to prevent the internet service from being “weaponized.”
“However, Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement,” she said.
